Another Brick In The Wall
by ITgwendolendragon
Summary: Jackie Burkhart has lived a life of fame and fortune for the past several years. One day she decides she's tired of it and decides to throw it all away so she can go back to school and do what she really wants to do. She's reunited with the gang and decides maybe she might actually have a thing for a certain sci-fi geek. Eric/Jackie
1. Chapter 1

Hey everybody, this is my second That 70's Show fanfiction, I hope you guys all like it. It won't be as depressing as my last story, so there's that to look forward to. This is about college aged Eric and Jackie and eventually Hyde will be here too, but like I said before, I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer – I don't own That 70's Show or any of it's characters.

September 24, 1984

Usually Jackie liked her birthday, it was a day about her and she got presents from everybody. That's how she used to feel, pampered. Now she just wanted to get everybody to leave her alone.

Little backstory, she always wanted to be a star. So she enrolled in the University of Wisconsin and took a theater course. She was considered to be the best actress in her class and her acting coach tipped off a casting agent about her talent and urged her to go and audition for an upcoming medical drama television show.

She went to the audition, nailed it, and was called back a few days later and told she got the part. They started filming several weeks later and Jackie didn't know the show would blow up like it did.

It became the biggest show on TV and Jackie thought she'd love that. She thought she'd love all the attention that came with fame and fortune, but she thought wrong. Turns out getting all the attention in the world could get overwhelming and very old very fast.

It was cool at first, but now it's annoying.

Jackie's contract for the show ended at the beginning of September in 1984 and she's decided to quit show business. She wanted to go back to college and study journalism. She found she liked watching people and watching how things unfold, so she started writing a little bit and found she really enjoyed it.

So recently, Jackie's decided to pack her bags, go back to Wisconsin, and attend Madison University. Donna had graduated a couple of years back and was now working as a sound engineer for a smaller record label, but she was trying to build up her resume and find work at a much larger record label.

Steven Hyde still worked at his father's record shop, but he was talking about moving out of Point Place and going somewhere else, he said he didn't care where, he just wanted to get out of this tiny little town.

Fez was dating this girl named Haley at the moment. She was red headed girl in a punk band called 'Pocalypse,' but don't let her punk title fool you. She was really sweet and everybody liked her, Jackie once even told Fez that he better treat her well because if he didn't she'd have to hurt him. Jackie wasn't even sure if she was kidding when she said it. But Fez and Haley have been together for over a year and a half now, so things were looking good for them.

Kelso was still a cop and he ended up marrying Brooke and now Betsy was now five. Kelso lived in a suburban town a few miles outside of Chicago and he absolutely adored his daughter. He jokingly referred to her as the little girl version of Eric because she apparently loved Star Wars and comic books.

She lovingly referred to Eric as 'Uncle Ricky' and he's the one that gave her some of his old comic books which she now keeps in a large box under her bed. He apparently took her to see Star Wars last year when the final installment of the saga came out even though Brooke told him specifically not to. That what he was 'cool Uncle Ricky' to Betsy.

Jackie never thought she'd hear Eric being referred to as cool, but life's full of surprises.

Eric went off to Madison when he came back from Africa and graduated with a degree in music theory in the spring. He came to visit his family and see his friends every once in a while, but it's been a while since he's come. He said he'd come visit for Thanksgiving.

He was living in Madison somewhere near the campus now, trying to find a job. He was going to teach middle school music class, since he always loved working with kids.

Jackie's only seen him once since he's returned from Africa thanks to her superstardom and all that crap. She was headed to Madison now, so maybe she'd see him while she was there.

She was on the bus there right now, her elbow leaned against the window and her cheek rested in her palm as she tried to stay awake, her eyelids heavy. She was so tired, she's barely slept in the past few days, she was so nervous about beginning a new life, she just hoped everything went well.

Luckily when the bus halted to a stop it woke the sleeping princess up, the movement causing her whole body to jerk forward. She let out a little gas of shock before she heard the doors on the bus slide open. She looked around and saw everybody was standing and grabbing there bags and heading off the bus.

Jackie stretched quickly and stood, reaching up to grab her bags from above her seat and pull them down. She had a lot of bags, I mean of course she did, she was Jackie Burkhart and Jackie had to have room to keep all her things that made her look gorgeous.

Jackie, using a lot of strength, struggled to get off of the bus with all of her things. Everybody was looking at her funny, wondering why she had packed so much for one trip. Couldn't she just have somebody send the rest of her things later and just take the necessities?

Jackie ignored the curious looks from other passengers and passerby's and she quickly walked to the sidewalk. The bus took her right to Madison University's campus, which was great and convenient. The only problem was that it was dark and Jackie hated the dark, it scared her, especially now, knowing who she was with all these strangers around and no one around to keep her safe.

Jackie tried pushing a stray strand of brown hair out of her face, but it was sticking to her lip gloss. God, she hated when that happened. She huffed in annoyance and decided to just try and go find where she could get her dorm key.

She walked for a few minutes, but eventually found where she was supposed to go. She walked into a larger building and saw a desk a few yards ahead of her. She was just glad it was well lit in here and there were no shady looking people in here, excluding the guy in the beige colored trench coat standing right outside the door smoking a cigarette.

Jackie stepped towards the desk and smiled politely at the girl working behind it. She looked like Cyndi Lauper, who Jackie adored, but this girl didn't seem to be having a good time. She loudly smacked on bubblegum and twirled a strand of her bright orange hair around her index finger.

Jackie cleared her throat to try and gain the girl's attention, but her attempt failed. So Jackie tried speaking to her, "Excuse me."

The girl finally looked up, her blue eyes showing nothing but pure annoyance, "Can I help you?" She asked in her valley girl voice.

Jackie smiled and tilted her head, "Yes, um, I'm Jackie Burkhart and I've recently been accepted to attend here, I just need the key to my dorm and I'll be going."

The girl pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows, but she didn't seem impressed with Jackie, "Wow, an admission in the middle of a semester, that doesn't usually happen around here, you must be special."

Jackie seemed surprised that this girl didn't know who she was, but she wasn't in the mood to try and remind her, she just wanted to get her dorm room key so she could get going.

The girl typed something on her computer, her long neon blue nails tapping at the keys loudly. Eventually she nodded and reached down underneath the desk for something and Jackie heard her rummaging through some things. Eventually she was handed her key and she smiled.

"Thank you," She smiled brightly, which made the girl behind the desk seem uncomfortable.

"Yeah, whatever," She said before she looked back down at her nails and started file them.

Jackie sighed and held her room key between her fingers as she started towards the door again, but she stopped when she got there. When she came in someone was nice enough to hold it open for her, but there was no one around now, and Jackie's hands were full.

She tried shifting her bags around, but she was sure that was making it worse. She resorted to kicking the door in frustration and that was followed by the girl at the desk snorting a laugh behind her, causing Jackie to glare at her over her shoulder.

"A little help here?" Jackie snapped, her glare never faltering.

The girl looked at her and smirked, "Not with that attitude," Then she was back to filing her nails.

Jackie huffed and looked down at her shoes, trying to figure out what to do. But her question was soon answered when someone opened the door for her.

"Here ye' go, miss," A man's voice spoke, "Britney can be a bit of an ass every so often, it's to be expected in her situation."

Jackie looked up and noticed the person holding the door open for her was the boy in the trenchcoat who was smoking a cigarette just minutes before.

"What do you mean 'in my situation?'" The girl, who Jackie now knew was named Britney, asked in a sharp tone.

"Y'know, your situation," The man replied, flapping his free hand about, "C'mon Britney, you work a dead end job at a college handing out room keys, life can't be that good."

"Bite me, Adam!" Britney snapped back, sending him a threatening glare. If looks could kill…

"C'mon miss, let's go find your room," The man said, never taking his eyes off of Britney, "She's spitting venom, we wouldn't want it to burn such a pretty lady."

Jackie didn't know whether to laugh or blush, but before she could do either, she was gently pushed out of the door and back outside. Once outside, some of her luggage was taken out of her hands by the man who helped her.

"What dorm you headed to?" He asked her, looking down at the keys in her hand.

Jackie, her hands now slightly less occupied, looked down at the key and the number imbedded on it, "Um… 365."

Adam suddenly smiled and nodded, "Ah yeah, I know exactly where that's at. It's just over here, follow me."

Jackie smiled and quickly followed Adam as he led her over to her dorm room as he continued talking to her, "I know your roommate. You'll like her, her names Linda. She's got an attitude, but, like, a good one. Y'know what I mean?"

Jackie nodded, "Yeah, I think so."

Adam nodded and smiled down at Jackie, "Good… Wait. Don't I know you from somewhere?"

Jackie shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, maybe…"

Adam examined her face for a moment longer before he smirked and nodded, snapping his fingers in realization, "Yeah, I do know you. You're Jackie Burkhart, you were on Central Lake Hospital. You played Natalia… What're you doing here? You're a star."

Jackie shrugged and frowned, "I was getting tired of all the hustle and bustle of the TV world. I wanted to do something more than just be a pretty face that teenage boy's fantasize about. I mean, I still want to do that, but maybe do it and do something I enjoy along with it, you know what I mean?"

Adam nodded and smiled, "Yeah, I know what you mean."

The two of them walked for several more yards but eventually stopped in front of a small building, which Jackie could only assume was where her dorm was.

"Well, this is it," Adam said, "Do you need help with these, or…"

Jackie shook her head, "No, I think I got it from here, if you could just help with opening the door?"

Adam nodded and smiled, "Of course."

Jackie took all her bags out of the nice boy's hands and he opened the door for her, saying as she passed, "Maybe I'll see you around?"

Jackie nodded and smiled, "Yeah, maybe."

Adam smiled and nodded before Jackie was inside the building and he waved to her, telling her goodbye before he closed to door behind her and dashed off back to what he was doing before Jackie got here.

Jackie looked around the building was in and she sighed. Thank God she was finally here, she was tired of travelling and worrying about her future.

Jackie started down the hallway and looked around for the dorm that had the number 365 on the front of it. It took her only a minute to find it. When she did she wrestled around for the key, trying to juggle all her bags at the same time before she somehow unlocked her room and pushed the door with her shoulder to actually open it. Once she was inside, she closed the door behind her.

It was a nice little dorm, it was actually quite spacious. It was really all one room, but it looked nice. There was a small couch in here, and all the far wall was a fridge, stove, microwave and toaster and on the other side were two beds, once of them in college sheets and the other decorated in bright oranges.

The room was empty besides her right now, leading her to assume the other girl was out doing something with friends, it was Saturday after all.

So Jackie started unpacking, wanting to get it all finished up as quickly as she possibly could so she could go to bed. She put away her clothes first, then her jewelry, then her personal hygiene products. She'd decorate her side of the dorm tomorrow, for now she'd just leave it as it was and get some sleep.

After she was done with unpacking, mostly anyways, she stood back and sighed, both hands on her hips as she examined the room once again.

This was a nice little room, it was cozy. Jackie smiled to herself, she kind of liked it here.

Jackie was pulled out of her thoughts of the room though when she heard shouting coming from outside. It seemed obnoxious and it made Jackie feel unsettled for a second. Usually when she heard drunken speech it made her feel threatened, you never know what a drunk person may do around a celebrity, they never thought things through, of course, Jackie wasn't used to people screwing around and getting drunk on campus. Drunk perverts and drunk college kids were on completely different levels of stupid.

Jackie went over to the window and looked out and saw about four people walking down path between buildings on campus, most of them staggering around and only one of them seeming somewhat sober.

Jackie recognized the sober one as Adam. There were two girls with him and another man, all three of them clumsily clambering down the walkway.

Jackie rolled her eyes and turned back to her dorm before deciding she'd go out and get some fresh air before she went to bed. Everything wasn't as rushed anymore, she could finally relax and do what she wanted.

Jackie smiled to herself, yawned and then skipped out of her dorm and back down the hall. She pushed the door to the building open and stepped outside, letting the door swing shut behind her before he stepped out from under the canopy and looked up at the sky.

The stars were pretty tonight, they were all bright and twinkling. Jackie didn't see much of the stars in the city, all the city lights made it impossible to see them.

Jackie smiled and felt a shiver run down her spine, making her wrap her arms around herself as she continued looking up at the beautiful sky.

Her peace was soon ruined by the three drunk bafoons as they started yelling at somebody, calling this person names and belittling him.

Jackie raised an eyebrow and looked towards her left and saw the group of four looking at a larger man who was smoking a cigarette.

"You four get the hell out of here before I have to kick all your asses!" The man shouted, glaring at them and taking a threatening step forward.

"I bet you'd like that wouldn't you, you fat pervert," The drunk man snapped, spitting on the ground next to his shoes before looking back up at the man in the doorway, the drunk man's eyes covered by his sunglasses.

"What did you just call me?" The 'fat' man snapped, clenching both his fists as he threw his cigarette down on the ground, not bothering to smoosh it down and put it out.

"I called you fat, what are you gonna do about it?" The man in sunglasses replied, throwing his head back and downing the rest of whatever was in that bottle he held tightly in his fist.

Jackie watched as the large man took a threatening step forward, "I swear to—"

But he was suddenly cut off when the man in sunglasses appeared to feel threatened by the larger man's step towards him and he threw the glass bottle in his hand at the man, the bottle shattering into several dozen pieces behind the big man.

"I'm going to kill you!" The large man yelled, infuriated.

Then, the group of four college students took off running, scattering out and going in separate directions, confusing the man, who watched as the girls took off.

The man in the sunglasses came towards Jackie though, and she didn't know what to do. He didn't come over to her though, not exactly. He jumped behind the bushes by her and crouched down, hiding from the man as he ran the opposite direction from them.

Jackie looked down at the man as he peeked over the top of the bushes and watched as the man ran away from him and towards Adam, who ran opposite from him.

The man smiled and chuckled before he stood and brushed himself off, still hiding behind the wall under the canopy though, just in case.

Jackie watched as he brushed his blue sweater off. It seemed a little big on him, but he was kind of thin, you could tell, even under a bulky sweater.

He looked familiar, but still so unrecognizable.

It'd be better if she could see his eyes, but his dark shades covered them. Why was he even wearing sunglasses? It was dark out.

"You probably shouldn't threaten men who are liable to kill you," Jackie said, her arms still wrapped around herself as she shivered noticeably.

The man in shades looked down at her and raised an eyebrow, "Jackie?"

Jackie was taken aback. So she did know him?

"Yeah…? And who are you?" She asked, her brow furrowed curiously.

The man smiled and held his hands out in surprise, "It's me! Eric! Eric Forman."

Jackie's eyes then widened. Whoa. He was so different than last time she saw him. He was still a skinny little punk, but he looked different. He dressed nicer, or nicer for Eric, his hair was a little shorter, but still shaggy as it seemed to spike up and point in all different directions. Did he groom himself? His hair was fluffy too, as if he blow dried it in the morning just to give it that effect.

"Eric… Wow, uh… Wow," Jackie chuckled.

"Yeah, I haven't seen you in, what? Two, three years?" He asked, but it was more of a statement than a question, "You look good, Jackie. Or should I say, Natalia Barker?"

Jackie blushed and face palmed, "No, please don't call me that…"

"Why? It's so exotic sounding," Eric teased, "Natalia Barker. Natalia… I don't know, I like it. I think it suits you."

Jackie shook her head and looked up at Eric, she couldn't help the smile on her face, "You're still a dork, that hasn't changed."

Eric adjusted his shoulders, "I've changed. My hair's different. I gained five pounds."

"You're still skinny," Jackie replied in a teasing way.

Eric held up a finger, "But not _as_ skinny."

Jackie rolled her eyes and asked the obvious question, "What's with the sunglasses, big shot?"

Eric pushed them up the bridge of his nose and replied, "I look really cool in them."

Jackie shook her head, "No, no you don't."

Eric shrugged, "That's what you think, but all my friends think I look awesome, so I wear them like the badass I have become."

Jackie rolled her eyes again and tightened her arms around herself, a chill assaulting her once again.

"You're cold," Eric observed the obvious, "I know the perfect solution for that. Booze."

Jackie rolled her eyes for the ninetieth time tonight and looked up at Eric, "I'm tired. I'm getting ready to go to bed."

Eric shook his head, "If you just got here you have to participate in the newcomer's ceremony."

"What newcomer's ceremony?" Jackie asked.

Eric smiled deviously, "Getting boozed up, smoking some good stuff, and going out to the bar and playing pool with your friends, or my friends, who are also super cool."

Jackie shook her head, "Eric, I'm tired. Can't we do the 'newcomer's ceremony' tomorrow?"

Eric shook his head and grabbed Jackie's shoulder's, "No, it had to be on the day you got here, but don't worry. After tonight, you'll sleep like an angel."

Jackie sighed irritably, but went along with it, figuring there was no arguing with a very drunk Eric. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. She'd like to catch up with Eric, see what he's been up to recently. Of course she'd have to wait till he was a bit more sober before she did that, but maybe she could have a little fun tonight, ease up. It's what she needed anyway.

Maybe she'd get to see what it was like to be a regular college kid afterall.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N - Sorry it took so long to update, I've had a busy month, plus I got sick. Yay. Anyway, here's the next chapter for the story, I hope I can write a little faster for the next chapter. Thanks for the reviews. I hope you enjoy. :)

"I wear my sunglasses at night, so I can, so I can…" Eric drunkenly sang as he directed Jackie back to his friend's dorm.

He stumbled around clumsily as he sang the song, some of the words jumbling together. Jackie giggled a little bit at him as she held her arms around herself, trying to keep the cold out.

From what she'd seen of him so far he was a bit different from the Eric she once knew, but she couldn't really tell if that was just him or if it was the bottle of whiskey he just downed. He still did nerdy things, like going to sci-fi movies and reading comics as she's heard Michael tell her, but sometimes Hyde will bring up that Eric's a little more care free than he used to be and somehow more sarcastic. Donna's even called him charming. Eric? Charming? Jackie just couldn't believe that.

"When's the last time you shaved?" Jackie asked, noticing the rugged stubble on his face.

Eric stopped singing abruptly and looked down at Jackie. She thought for a second that maybe he hadn't heard her, but after a minute he smiled and shrugged, rubbing his face, "I don't know… Three, maybe four days ago? Why?"

Jackie shrugged and smirked as she kicked at a rock on the pavement, "I don't know, just thought I should ask."

Eric smirked smugly down at Jackie, wiggling his eyebrows at her, "Does it make me look roguishly handsome?"

Jackie rolled her eyes, "Not even a little."

Eric scoffed, but he kept the smile on his face, "Same 'ol Jackie… So very critical…"

Jackie frowned and sent her old friend a look, "I'm not that critical."

Eric, still smiling, replied with, "That's a lie. You criticize everything anybody ever does."

"Do not," Jackie pouted, keeping her arms crossed.

"'Don't play with your food, Michael,' 'Steven, why do you have to make jokes like that?', 'Donna, why do you only like dorky guys?', 'Ew, Eric is such a nerd,'" Eric mocked in a shrill voice.

"That's not true," Jackie defended, "I never said that to Donna. She dated Casey that one time and he was cool."

Eric rolled his eyes, "You know what I mean, Jackie."

Jackie pouted again and it was silent for a moment before she asked, seemingly a little offended, "Was that supposed to be an impression of me?"

Eric smiled cockily, "It was pretty spot on, wasn't it?"

Jackie scoffed and cut her eyes away from him, looking in the opposite direction, "As if."

Eric snorted and then said in a shrill voice, "'As if.'"

Jackie smacked him on the arm, but even she was smiling now, "Shut up," She laughed.

Eric chuckled in return as they continued on with a few more steps. Then Eric grabbed Jackie's shoulders roughly and forced her to stop. Jackie yelped in surprise and Eric quickly apologized, "Sorry, but we almost passed it."

Jackie shrugged out of Eric's grip and looked up at the building they were standing in front of. She didn't even notice Eric walk ahead of her and going towards the door, she only realized he was gone when he loudly cleared his throat.

Jackie looked down and over at Eric who was now holding the door open for her, "My lady."

Jackie sighed and stepped forward, walking into the building past Eric. After she was inside, Eric walked past her and ahead of her, leading her down the hall as he pulled his room key out of his pocket.

Jackie followed him down the hall for a moment and he eventually stopped in front of room number 515, drunkenly trying to unlock the room.

"Eric?" Jackie suddenly said, a question eating at her brain.

"Hm?" Eric hummed, fumbling with the key.

"Your parents told me you graduated," Jackie said, "So… Why are you still here?"

Eric turned to look at Jackie, shrugging before messing with the key again, "I don't have a job, therefor I have no money, so… I'm staying here in secret, so don't tell anybody."

"Nobody knows you're here?" Jackie asked, a little surprised.

Eric shook his head, "Only the other students," Eric then smiled and threw his hands up, "Look at that! The doors already unlocked… Stupid me, eh?"

Eric scoffed and put his key back in his pocket before opening the door and walking inside, turning to look back at Jackie, "Please, come in."

Jackie hesitantly stepped into his dorm and looked around as she stepped inside. It was a little bigger than her dorm, but not by much.

As they walked inside Jackie saw the boy who helped her to her dorm. Adam.

"What happened to you?" Jackie found herself asking after she saw Adam holding a cloth to his nose that was currently gushing blood.

Adam looked over at her and then glared at Eric, "Some asshole threw a fucking bottle at an angry giant and left me to fucking deal with it."

Jackie felt bad for him then she heard somebody laugh. She looked up to see Eric holding back his laughter, a large smile on his face, "Sorry man, he was pissing me off."

"He wasn't doing anything," Adam snapped back, his dark eyes glaring daggers at his friend and roommate.

"Yeah, but just looking at him pisses me off," Eric said, walking past the small couch where Adam was sitting with two women, "Oh Jackie, this is Olivia and Linda."

Eric then walked over to the small kitchen area in the room as Jackie looked down at the two women who were now looking up at her.

"Hi," Jackie said, waving awkwardly.

The dark skinned woman smiled and held out her hand, shaking Jackie's, "Nice to meet you, I'm Linda."

Jackie smiled and shook the girls hand as Adam spoke, "She's your new roommate."

"Really?" Linda smiled, releasing Jackie's hand, "Well that's even better then, isn't it?"

Jackie smiled. This girl seemed optimistic. She liked her.

"Here ye' go, Jackie," Eric said as he returned, tossing his old friend a cold beer.

Jackie caught it and looked down at it before shaking her head, "I'm not in the drinking mood, really."

Eric scoffed and furrowed his brow, falling back into the couch cushions, sitting beside Linda as he cracked open his beer, "Jackie, it's part of the welcoming ritual. Please, drink… It wouldn't be right if you didn't."

Jackie looked down at the beer in her hands and sighed. Maybe she'll just have one. She popped the top on it and took a sip, wincing at the foul taste. Jesus, this was a strong brand!

"Alright, I think it's stopped bleeding," The other girl, who looked to be of Asian descent said.

She took the blood soaked rag away from Adam's nose and suddenly stood, "I'll go get something to clean this up."

She then ran to the bathroom, the bloody rag in both her hands.

"You know, Adam," Eric said, looking at his friend as he leaned back into the couch lazily, "I think I have just the thing to cheer you up."

Adam rolled his eyes, "We're finally going to use it?"

Eric nodded, standing, his beer still in his hand. He stood so quickly it spilled beer over the top a little bit, forcing Eric to rush and sip on it to keep it from spilling anymore, "I'll be right back."

Jackie raised an eyebrow and looked at Adam as Eric disappeared to his side of the dorm.

"What's he getting?" Jackie asked, a little curious.

Adam poked at his sore nose and said simply, "Weed."

So he still got high? What a shocker.

"This is supposed to be some really good shit too," Adam said, looking over at Jackie and shrugging, "Or so he told us… You've smoked before haven't ye'?"

Jackie nodded, sitting down in the chair behind her, "Yeah, but it's been a while."

"This stuff will have you wanting more," Eric said as he stumbled back into the living room drunkenly.

Jackie watched as Eric suddenly revealed a small plastic back with what looked like grass inside of it. As Eric opened the bag and sniffed the contents just as Olivia returned with a wet wash cloth in her small hand.

"Here ye' go, Adam," She smiled sweetly, handing the man the rag.

"Thanks Livy," Adam said, taking the cloth from the young woman who smiled at him in an odd way.

She liked him. She made it obvious.

As Adam cleaned the dried and crusted blood from around his nose and mouth, Eric starting rolling marijuana cigarettes on the coffee table.

It only took him a few minutes to roll everybody one and when he was finished and everybody was holding their cigarettes, Eric brandished a lighter from his pocket, lighting everyone's cigarette.

"Alright," Eric said, shoving the lighter back into his pocket before looking around at everyone, pushing his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose, "To my old friend Jackie!"

"To Jackie!" Everyone yelled, making Jackie smile and blush a little as all attention was on her all of the sudden.

Then, everyone took a drag of their cigarette, but Jackie was hesitant. Adam told her this stuff was supposed to be strong. She's never had strong weed before, it was always Hyde's crappy stuff he got from Leo.

Eric coughed a little before he blew the smoke out of his mouth and giggled like a little girl, looking over at his friends, "It's good, right?"

Adam nodded, as did the girls.

"Not gonna lie, Forman," Linda said, blowing smoke from her mouth, "This is the best weed I've ever had."

"That's saying something," Adam remarked, referring to her 'guy' that got her all her pot.

"What can I say," Eric smiled, taking another drag, "I'm basically Jesus."

"Is it already working?" Linda remarked sarcastically, being shoved lightly in return by Eric.

They all seemed to be enjoying it. How bad could it be? Jackie thought to herself.

Here goes nothing.

Jackie put the cigarette to her lips and inhaled the drug, and as soon as it tickled the back of her throat, she coughed violently, causing everyone around her to laugh.

She coughed for a second and she felt an arm go around her shoulders, pulling her close to them. After she was mostly recovered from the strong drug she looked up and saw it was Eric holding her close, smiling widely.

"What I tell ye'?" He said, squeezing her arm unconsciously.

Jackie didn't know why, but with how close he was to her it made her become all flustered. She could smell him. He smelled like weed, beer, and some kind of cologne that she's smelled before. For some reason that intrigued her.

After only a moment, Eric took his arm away from Jackie's shoulders, but he stayed seated next to her. And I mean right next to her.

He seemed oblivious to her flushed face as he and his friends continued smoking from the cigarettes and talking about random things.

Jackie tried to ignore the weird feelings she just got when Eric touched her and continued trying to smoke along with them. Because there was no way Jackie Burkhart just blushed because of Eric Forman.

0-0-0-0-0

Eric ended up taking everyone out to a bar where they ate, drank and played pool for hours with a bunch of other drunk college students.

Not too much of anything interesting happened while they were out, just the same thing that happened at Adam's dorm.

They were now walking back to that same dorm, Eric, Adam and Olivia all together a few yards ahead of Jackie and Linda.

Linda was currently smoking a cigarette as she walked alongside Jackie who had her arms wrapped around herself to shield herself from the cold. She was so tired. They were out for hours. It was close to three o'clock.

Jackie watched the three ahead of her as they laughed and talked. How could they still be so full of energy when all Jackie wanted to do was curl up and sleep?

"So, you've known Eric for a long time, huh?" Linda asked, taking a long drag from her cigarette.

Jackie looked over at Linda and nodded, "Yeah, since middle school, probably."

Linda nodded, "So, did you guys, like, date or something?"

Jackie made a face, letting Linda know just how much she disliked that idea, "Ew, no! We are talking about Eric Forman, right?"

Linda smiled a little bit as she held her cigarette between her fingers, "Yeah, I heard he used to be a little bit of a nerd."

Jackie raised an eyebrow, "Used to be?"

Linda nodded, "Yeah, he still babbles about Star Wars and reads comics and all that, but in reality, he's pretty cool."

"Eric? Cool? Are you sure we're talking about the same person?" Jackie asked, making Linda giggle a little.

"Trust me, he's like, the coolest guy on campus," Linda said, "Everybody knows who he is."

"Really?" Jackie exclaimed, very surprised.

"Yep," Linda hummed, "When he was still actually attending school he was known for smart mouthing all the professors. He got in trouble for that a lot, along with getting caught with a joint several times… All the girls love him."

This was all very surprising to anyone who's known Eric before college. Does the rest of the gang know about Eric's campus shenanigans?

"You're telling me Eric got all the girls?" Jackie said, her tone of voice very surprised, "Have you seen him?"

"I don't think it's the looks so much," Linda said, "He's fearless and very charming, and girls love a daredevil… And come on, he's not that bad looking."

Jackie scoffed and held her arms tighter around herself, "He weighs like 90 pounds soaking wet, he has girl hands, and his eyes make him look stoned all of the time."

"How do you know he's not?" Linda questioned, giggling a little.

"He's wasn't really considered a stoner when I knew him," Jackie said, "He just smoked every once and a while."

Linda shook her head, "He doesn't really smoke a lot here either, he's just reckless when he does… And don't make fun of his eyes, he's sensitive about that."

Jackie furrowed her brow and looked up at Linda, "What? Why?"

It was then Linda's turn to give Jackie a weird look, "You do know why he wears those sunglasses, right?"

"No, why?" Jackie was curious now.

Linda seemed surprised, "So you don't know?"

"Don't know what?" Jackie asked, getting impatient and annoyed, "What are you talking about?"

Linda sighed before she started, "During Eric's first year here he had this bully of sorts who used to antagonize him. Eric didn't really seem to care too much about this, he just dealt with it and went on with his normal life. But during the second semester I'm going to say, that bully was deadbeat drunk and we were at this party, and this bully got violent when he was drunk…"

Jackie didn't like the sound of that.

"And he saw Eric was there," Linda continued, "And there was this fire pit there, and next to it was a fire poker that they used to, y'know, move the logs. Well, this bully found it and heated it up in the fire, and he had this weird grudge against Eric that night for some reason. So after he heated up this fire poker, he went over to Eric and just plainly smacked him across the eye with it."

Jackie gasped, covering her mouth, afraid Eric might of overheard, "What happened next?"

Linda adjusted her shoulders before continuing, "Well, the poker was extremely hot so it burned the skin around Eric's eye and it also injured his eye very horribly… We took him to the hospital that night and they gave him some stuff for pain and they put a bandage over it for a while, but the scars are still there…"

"Well, other than the scars, he is okay right?" Jackie asked, feeling concern she's never felt for Eric before.

"Well, he's got a burn scar around his eye," Linda said, looking over at Jackie, albeit sadly, "His eye's a bit cloudy and the eyelid's a bit droopy… He's mostly blind in it now."

"My God…" Jackie said quietly, very surprised, "And that's why he wears the sunglasses?"

Linda nodded, "Yep. He's real self-conscious about it."

"Why?" Jackie asked, "That's been years ago now. You mean to tell me he's had those sunglasses on for that long?"

Linda nodded, "He only takes him off when he's sleeping."

Jackie just didn't get it, "Why is he so shy about it?"

Linda shrugged, "Eric is an odd person, but for some reason he's still afraid of being different."

For some reason, that stuck with Jackie.

0-0-0-0-0

When they got back to Adam's dorm, they all crashed. Everybody was lying down somewhere and sleeping in a matter of seconds when they got back, except for Jackie.

She was tired, but for some reason she couldn't fall asleep. She was curious about Eric now.

Why was he so self-conscious about his scar? You think he'd be over something like that by now.

Jackie looked over at Eric where he slept on the couch, his head hanging over the side as he snored softly, his mouth hanging agape. He was still wearing the glasses. He was so tired he forgot to take them off.

Jackie had the overwhelming urge to go take them off for him, but she didn't want to wake him and piss him off. It was a shitty thing to do. She should just wait and let him show her in his own time.

Jackie still didn't sleep though, not well anyway. She just watched Eric as he slept, silently wondering about the new Eric Forman.


	3. Chapter 3

September 25, 1984

Jackie woke up the next day to an odd feeling in her side. She felt like she was being poked. She screwed her eyes shut and groaned a little as she was drawn out of sleep, feeling slightly annoyed at whatever it was that was waking her up.

After another moment of this, Jackie finally opened her eyes and saw Eric standing over her, poking her in the side with a wooden spatula.

"Eric?" Jackie groaned, stretching for a moment, "What are you doing?"

Jackie was suddenly reminded of the night of drinking the night before when she moved her head and a pounding headache made itself present.

"I'm poking you, what does it look like I'm doing?" Eric said with no smile at all.

Jackie looked around the room a bit and didn't see anyone, prompting her to ask, "Where is everyone?"

"The girls went back to their rooms, and Adam went to the grocery store," Eric said, adjusting his shoulders, "We're out of milk, so…"

Jackie looked Eric up and down. He seemed to be fine this morning. So why did she have a pounding headache?

"Are you feeling alright this morning?" Jackie asked curiously, rubbing the back of her head as she finally sat up.

Eric smiled and nodded, "Never felt better."

Jackie gave him a weird look and looked down at his hand that was still holding the spatula, "Why were you poking me with that?"

Eric looked down at his hand and then back up at Jackie, shrugging, "I got bored and you were sleeping, so…"

"You could have just told me to get up," Jackie replied, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Where would be the fun in that?" Eric asked, smiling as he turned on his heel and went back into the tiny kitchen area.

Jackie decided she should just get up, no matter how bad her headache was. She's had worse.

She got up from the couch and stumbled into the kitchen behind Eric, feeling groggy and sick, but fighting it. Eric had a pan on the stovetop and some pancake mix and eggs laying on the counter next to it. This is probably why Adam went to get milk.

"Well, since I'm sober now," Eric started, looking down at Jackie, "I feel like I can ask some questions."

Jackie nodded, crossing her arms and leaning back against the counter, "Yeah, okay. What do you want to know?"

"What was it like making the hottest show on television for five years?" Eric asked, smiling as he too crossed his arms and leaned back against the counter opposite of Jackie.

Jackie shrugged a little before she spoke, "At first it was kind of cool. Then I realized show business wasn't all it was cracked up to be."

Eric smirked smugly, "What? Was all the sex and drugs too much?"

Jackie pursed her lips and nodded, "Actually, yeah."

Eric then frowned, "Oh."

He wasn't expecting that.

"At first I thought all of the attention was cool. From my fans to my co-stars, but… Then I started going to these parties and you know I'm not really the wild party type of girl," Jackie said.

"Yeah, you were the prude who always stood in the corner and yelled at Kelso," Eric remembered, smiling again.

Jackie actually smirked a little bit and responded with a simple, "Yeah."

"So… What kind of drugs were you into?" Eric asked, not holding anything back.

Jackie shrugged, "I wasn't addicted to anything, I just remember people giving me stuff to try at parties. It was mostly pot, but I think I was tripping on acid one time."

"Was it good or bad?" Eric asked.

Jackie didn't seem to get the question, "What?"

"Was it good or bad?" Eric asked again, "Like, when you took it did you see pretty colors and feel relaxed, or did you see the fridge turning into a sharp toothed monster and the floor disappearing from underneath you?"

Jackie raised an eyebrow, "I feel like you've experienced this before."

"It only takes one bad trip to push you away from it," Eric said, "I did it a few times, but it's been a while. I never really liked it."

Jackie smiled a little up at Eric, "So I hear you're pretty popular around here. Is that true?"

Eric shrugged, "People like me, I wouldn't call myself popular."

"I think everyone liking you is the definition of popular," Jackie claimed, dropping her arms by her sides.

"Not everyone likes me," Eric said, but he didn't really seem to care about it too much, his voice was still chipper and full of happiness, "There was this one guy…"

He stopped himself before he went on, though.

Jackie assumes this is the 'one guy' who slashed Eric across the face with a fire poker, but she didn't press it further. Like she told herself last night, she'd let him tell her in his own time.

Before either of them were able to say anything else, the door opened and in walked Adam, holding a gallon of milk.

"I'm back," He said, smiling as he saw Jackie, "Oh, good morning, Jackie."

"Good morning, Adam," Jackie smiled sweetly at him, wiggling her fingers a tad.

Adam then turned and looked at Eric, "So. Are we making these or what?"

0-0-0-0-0

Jackie went back to her dorm later that morning, deciding to finish unpacking.

Her roommate Linda was reading a book when she returned and she greeted her fondly. Linda didn't say much, she only told Jackie that she had a pounding headache. At least Jackie wasn't alone in that.

So Jackie unpacked the rest of her things and decorated her side of the dorm, after she finished, Linda said she was going out for some fresh air, thinking maybe that would help her headache.

So after Linda left, Jackie decided she'd call Donna. She had to tell someone about her adventures last night, and Donna was her best friend, so she decided to call her. Donna was pretty good at keeping secrets anyway.

So Jackie dialed her friend's number and listened to phone ring for a second before Donna finally picked up.

"Hello?" She heard the tired voice of Donna speak.

"Hey Donna, it's Jackie," Jackie greeted, feeling a little bad, "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"No, I've been up for a few minutes," Donna replied, easing Jackie, "What's up?"

"I just thought I should call and tell you I got here alright," Jackie smiled, "And man, did I have a crazy first night."

Jackie could just hear Donna smiling, "Oh yeah, what happened?"

"Well, when I first got here I met this boy named Adam, and—"

"Is he cute?" Donna asked teasingly.

Jackie rolled her eyes, "Yeah, he's cute, but not really my type."

"Is he my type?" Donna asked.

Jackie rolled her eyes again, "He's shorter than you."

"Most guys I know are shorter than me," Donna replied.

"I don't know, maybe he's your type," Jackie said, "Maybe you could see for yourself if you met him. Anyway, after I met him I came to my new dorm and set up everything and then I met Adam's friends."

"Are his friends guys?" Donna asked.

"Two of them are girls and the other one's a guy," Jackie replied, "One of his friend's, Linda, she's my roommate, and she's so cool."

"There's someone cooler than you?" Donna teased.

"Shut up," Jackie said and Donna laughed on the other end, "And then there's Olivia, who I'm pretty sure likes Adam. She's not so good at hiding it. And then, you'll never guess who I saw."

"Who?" Donna asked curiously.

"Eric," Jackie replied, a little too giddily.

"Eric?" Donna asked, a little confused, "What was he doing on campus, I thought he graduated."

"He did," Jackie said, "He was just visiting so he could hang out with his friends, I guess."

Jackie wasn't just going to rat on Eric like that, she'd rather cover for him. Why? She doesn't really know herself. Eric was just different now, and she kind of liked it, even if she hated to admit it to herself.

"I haven't seen him since last Christmas," Donna said, "How's he doing?"

"He's very… Chipper," Jackie said, giggling a little.

"Yeah," Donna replied, "That's how he was last year when I saw him. It seems like college has helped him come out of his shell a little bit."

"You think?" Jackie smiled, "He's a nutcase. He's all over the place and he's so… confident. It's kind of freaking me out."

"That's how I felt when I saw him for the first time since he went off to college," Donna replied, "He's still Eric, just with a spoonful of confidence and extra sarcasm."

Jackie giggled, "Yeah, he's still a pain in the ass though."

"You got that right," Donna said, "He prank called me when he was drunk a few months ago. I can't even remember what it was about, I was laughing so hard."

Jackie smiled, "Well, I should get back to work. I've got a lot of stuff that needs to be done around here."

"Yeah, alright," Donna said, "You're coming home for Thanksgiving, right?"

"Yep," Jackie chirped.

"Alright, well I'll talk to you later," Donna said, "Bye."

"Bye," Then Jackie hung up.

0-0-0-0-0

"Favorite color," Jackie said to Eric as they walked along the path, Eric balancing on a ledge around a garden.

"Green," He answered honestly, trying to keep his balance.

"Favorite song," Jackie went on.

"Helter Skelter," Eric replied.

"Favorite movie," Jackie asked.

Eric gave her a look, "Do you really need to ask that?"

"Okay, fine," Jackie giggled, "Which Star Wars is your favorite?"

"The Empire Strikes Back, duh," Eric replied, as if it were obvious.

"I actually kind of liked that one," Jackie said.

"Wait," Eric hopped of the ledge and looked down at Jackie, "You mean to tell me that you actually went to the theater and saw it? On your own time?"

Jackie nodded and smiled, "Yes, I did."

"It was just so you could see Harrison Ford wasn't it?" Eric asked.

"Maybe," Jackie giggled and Eric chuckled a little bit.

Then they were quiet for a moment, neither of them really knowing what to say to each other. You would think with them spending so much time apart there would be loads of things to talk about, but you can only talk about your career and your college degree so much before it gets boring.

Jackie wanted to ask Eric about his eye. She knew what happened to it, but she feels like she should ask, just to make it seem like she was actually curious. If she never asked him why he always wore sunglasses he might get suspicious. Maybe she should just ask him.

"Eric?" Jackie said nervously, wrapping her arms around herself as Eric walked alongside her, his hand stuffed into his deep pockets.

"Yeah?" Eric hummed, looking over at the girl next to him.

"Why do you always wear those?" Jackie asked, pointing at his glasses.

Eric frowned and looked down at his feet, "It's a long story, trust me, you don't want to hear it."

Jackie furrowed her brow, "Why not?"

Eric shrugged, "It's… I just don't want to talk about it."

Jackie looked down at her feet, "Okay. Sorry."

Eric looked over at his old friend, feeling a bit bad. He hadn't sounded harsh had he?

"Sorry if I seem rude, it's just… It's not one of my fondest memories," Eric explained, forcing a smile, "I'll tell you eventually, okay?"

Jackie smiled and nodded, "Yeah, alright."

Eric smiled, genuinely this time, "Hey, I got a great idea!"

"What?" Jackie giggled at his sudden enthusiasm.

"I've got this change in my pocket, want to go to the arcade?" Eric asked, "The local one's got Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Asteroids, it even has pinball in case you don't like those types of games."

Jackie smiled and nodded, "Yeah, sure. That's sounds fun."

Eric smiled excitedly, "Great. Let's go."

Then, with his newfound excitement, he grabbed Jackie's hand and dragged her down the sidewalk, both of them now heading towards Eric's favorite place in town.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N – Thanks to the reviews from TyeDyeJackson and AmbientSpaceNoise, I try to update as soon as I can, but I just got a new job, which I haven't started yet, but it's child care so there's a lot of paperwork and I have to take classes before I start working there. So that on top of my regular classes is a bit much. I graduate in a couple of months though, so that should clear up a bit of my time.

Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing. This is currently my favorite story I'm writing at the moment, so keep reviewing, I love it when you do.

Disclaimer – You guys know I don't own this show or it's characters.

November 21, 1984

It was the day before Thanksgiving when Eric asked Jackie if she'd like to tag along to go with him to Point Place. She hadn't been back home in a while, not really anyway. Every time she was in Point Place in the last few years it was either a couple hour visit or a passing through type of thing. Maybe it would be nice to visit. She hadn't seen Red and Kitty in a while and they were like her second parents.

So she quickly packed her things and met Eric in the parking lot. He was in the driver's already, the radio cranked to the max as ACDC blared through the speakers. Jackie threw her bags in the back seat before she went around and got in the passenger seat.

Eric only then noticed her.

He jerked when the passenger side door slammed shut and he turned to look at her, a smile making itself present on his face, "You're ready, then?"

Jackie nodded, "Yep."

Eric then immediately put the car in reverse and began backing out of the parking space. They were on the road for several minutes before anyone spoke, though. And when somebody did speak, it was Jackie getting tired of hearing Brian Johnson screaming over the speakers.

"Can we please listen to something else?" Jackie asked, turning to look at Eric, annoyance in her hazel eyes.

Eric looked over at her briefly and smiled slightly, "You don't like ACDC?"

"No," Jackie simply replied, turning it to the radio. Now you had the Safety Dance playing, "There. Much better."

Eric smirked and shook his head, "Your taste in music hasn't changed."

"And that means?" Jackie questioned, her arms crossed over her chest.

"It's still absolute shit," Eric replied, seeming content in the way he said it.

"It is not," Jackie defended, glaring at Eric playfully.

"Oh come on," Eric went on, "When we were kids you used to have records of Sonny and Cher and ABBA. If that doesn't tell you what taste in music you have, I don't know what does."

Jackie finally smiled, "Well, fine. My music taste is the same, but so is yours."

"At least my music is good," Eric defended.

"Alright, whatever," Jackie said, but she couldn't hide the smile.

They talked about whatever they could for the next couple of hours. They stopped for gas once and then got back on the road. Jackie had been meaning to ask Eric something since she got here, but always felt weird asking about it. But now knowing how easy it was to talk to Eric, she decided maybe he wouldn't react too badly.

"Eric. Can I ask you something?" Jackie asked after taking a sip from the Coke she got at the gas station.

"Anything," Eric said, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the song on the radio.

"It's about Donna," Jackie said, "I'm just curious… Are you two, y'know—"

"Officially broken up?" Eric completed her question for her, noticing how nervous she was, "Yeah. We're probably not going to be getting back together. Everything changed when we went to college. We changed."

Jackie raised an eyebrow, "How so?"

Eric was different from when he was a teenager, but he was still Eric.

"Well, Donna got into the feminist movement. Maybe a little too much," Eric said, "I try staying out of politics, since I generally don't really know what I'm talking about. She wanted me to try and help out with the movement, but I was never really good at it. I mean, don't get me wrong. The feminist movement is great and all, it's just not for me to be involved in. Besides, I'm a little different too, she couldn't handle too much change in me."

"She could handle change in the way woman should be able to live their lives, but she couldn't handle you changing?" Jackie asked. That seemed a little shallow.

"Well, I started developing new friendships when I first started out at college," Eric continued, "She didn't like my friends that much."

"Wait she didn't like your friends?" Jackie asked, "They're the coolest people I know."

Eric smiled, "They were too… Wild for Donna. And you know how Donna can be. She tries to hide it, but she can get jealous. She thought I was cheating on her with Linda one time."

"Really?" Jackie asked, "I mean, Linda's great and all, but she's not really your type."

"Yeah, well… Wait. I have a type?" Eric asked, but he was smiling a little.

"Well, yeah," Jackie said, "Doesn't everybody?"

"What would my type be, Jackie? I mean, since you seem to know what my type is," Eric smiled. He was teasing her.

Jackie didn't really know what to say now, "Well, uh, you know… You've always seemed to like nice girls, sweet ones. But… Girls that knew how to sweep you off your feet when the time called for it."

Eric noticed she was blushing and smiled wider, "Like you?"

Now she blushed harder, just what Eric was aiming for.

"W-well, uh…" Jackie didn't know what to say. What did she say to something like that?

Eric then started laughing, "Oh Jackie, you're hilarious."

"W-what?" Jackie asked, a little surprised.

"You should have seen your face," Eric chuckled, "You sure know how to make a guy laugh."

Jackie glared at him now, "You're a jackass."

That only made Eric laugh harder. Jackie didn't see what was so funny about this. She was embarrassed, he embarrassed her, but it made him happy for some reason. Seeing him laugh so hard made her crack a smile. She couldn't keep her tough front up for that long. Now they were both laughing, they were laughing so much Eric thought he'd have to pull over so he didn't crash the car. But eventually the laughing died down and they were calmed down.

"You're still a jackass," Jackie smiled, wiping her eyes.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Eric smiled.

Jackie just rolled her eyes as they continued towards Point Place, Wisconsin.

0-0-0-0-0

They arrived in Point Place that night. There were people here, more than just family. Apparently Eric's parents had thrown a little get together. Eric smiled up at his old house. He remembered the crazy times he used to have here. Sometimes he just wishes he could go back to the days where his parents still took care of him. Right now he was just mooching off of his friends because he couldn't find a job.

"You ready?" Jackie asked, gazing at him curiously.

Eric flinched at the sudden voice, but smiled anyway, "Yeah, let's go."

The two friends got out of the car quickly, going up to the house immediately, deciding they'd get their things later. They'll just go through the back door, it was much easier that way.

Inside the kitchen was Eric's parents. Kitty was doing something at the stove and Red was in the fridge getting a beer. Eric opened the sliding back door and smiled as he stepped into the kitchen.

"Honey, I'm home!" Eric called excitedly.

Both Kitty and Red turned at the sudden voice and beamed happily, "Eric!" Kitty cried as she practically jumped into his arms, "My baby's home! I'm so excited!"

"Hey mom," Eric chuckled, returning his mother's tight embrace.

"Eric," Red smiled as he stepped over, a beer in his hand as he held out his other, "How you doing, son?"

Eric shook his father's hand before he replied, "I'm doing fine. Still looking for a job, though."

"Well, as long as you're looking," Red said, releasing his son's hand.

Eric looked down at his mother who was still hugging him before he looked to his father once more, "Dad. Could you get her off of me? It's getting hard to breathe."

"Kitty," Red suddenly frowned, setting his unopened beer on the counter, "Come on, you're suffocating him."

Kitty suddenly jumped back from her baby boy, "Oh! Sorry! I just missed you so much!"

"I know," Eric smiled, "I'll try to visit more often than Thanksgiving."

"Please do," Kitty said, holding her hands together, as if begging him, "It's weird not having you around here anymore. It's so… Quiet."

"I know," Eric said, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "I'll come visit for you birthday. How's that sound?"

Kitty smiled, "That's sounds wonderful!"

"It's set then," Eric replied, smiling warmly at his mother. He missed seeing her. He never realized how much he needed her until she wasn't around all the time.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Forman," Jackie suddenly cut in, feeling a little awkward just standing by herself.

"Jackie, it's so nice to see you!" Kitty smiled, going to hug Jackie, "Eric told me he was going to try and get you to tag along."

"Well, it worked," Jackie smiled, returning Kitty's hug.

"How have your classes been going?" Kitty asked, pulling away.

"It's been stressful," Jackie replied, adjusting her shoulders as she sighed, "But I've heard it's always like that in the beginning. It'll get better once I get used to it all."

"Well, just keep up the good work," Kitty smiled, squeezing Jackie's arms in a friendly manner.

"Are the others in the living room?" Eric suddenly asked, going towards the door.

"Yes, everybody's in there socializing," Kitty said, "They'll be so happy to see you two."

"Alright, thanks," Eric smiled, "It's nice to see you guys, we'll catch up later."

"That's alright, dear. Just go and talk to your friends, I'm sure they've missed you," Kitty said, politely shooing him and Jackie into the next room.

Eric and Jackie pushed through the door that blocked the kitchen from the living room and were immediately met with all of their childhood friends. Kelso was the first to see them.

"Jackie! Eric!" He shouted loudly, throwing his arms up.

Kelso's stayed pretty much the same, he's only mature when it comes to raising his daughter.

"Kelso!" Eric threw his arms up as well as Kelso bombarded him with a brotherly hug, but he quickly moved over to Jackie a moment later.

"Jackie, how've you been?" Kelso asked, "We haven't seen you in a while."

"I'm fine, Michael," Jackie replied as Kelso pulled away, "I'm a lot better since I quit show business."

"Well, that's good," Kelso said, fixing his hair.

"What's up, Forman?" Hyde said as he stepped over and hugged his brother.

"Not much, how about you?" Eric asked.

"Same as usual," Hyde replied, taking a sip of his beer, "I think me and June are getting serious, though."

"Really?" Eric smiled. He soon as he met Hyde's girlfriend for the first time he knew they'd be together. She was perfect for him. She was sweet, but she had the sarcasm that even made Hyde have to stop and search his brain for a comeback.

"Yeah, I think she wants to get married," Hyde replied, seeming a bit nervous, actually.

"Really?" Jackie asked, crossing her arms over her chest, feeling a bit excited for him, "And… Do you think YOU'RE ready for that?"

Hyde shrugged, "I don't know, I mean… I think so, yeah."

Eric smiled and smacked Hyde on the arm in a friendly way, "Way to go, man. I better be the best man."

"Slow down, I haven't even asked her yet," Hyde said. He was actually really nervous about this, "I don't even know how to go about it. I'm not exactly the romantic type."

"You'll figure something out, man," Eric said, shrugging, "She's not super romantic either. I'm sure it doesn't have to be anything extravagant."

"You're probably right," Hyde said, avoiding everyone's gaze.

"I'm always right," Eric replied, smiling smugly.

"Well, there's one thing that never changed," Hyde said, slumping his shoulders.

"And what's that?" Eric asked, smiling as he always seemed to be doing.

"You're still a liar," Hyde smiled.

Eric scoffed, "I'm not a liar, you just don't want to admit to my genius."

"Yeah right," Hyde then grabbed Eric and put him in a headlock, ruffling his hair.

Jackie rolled her eyes and decided to step away and let the boys be boys. She decided she'd go and mingle on her own. So she stepped around the boys and spotted Fez sitting on the couch, sitting next to a very pretty woman. Also a very pregnant woman.

"Hi Fez," Jackie smiled as she approached her old friend who she hasn't seen in years.

"Jackie!" His face immediately lit up as he stood, opening his arms for her.

Jackie smiled and went to hug him before she asked, "How are you?"

"I'm good," Fez smiled, "Just a little stressed."

"You're stressed?" The woman still sitting on the couch huffed, glaring at Fez, "Try being in my shoes."

Jackie looked down at the woman and held out her hand, although hesitant, "Hi, I'm Jackie."

The woman looked up at the woman and forced a smile, "I'm Barbara. Sorry, I'm having some… Stress at the moment… Obviously."

Jackie smiled as the woman gestured to her belly, "That's okay. I understand," Then Jackie looked between the woman and Fez, "Are you two…?"

"Yes, we're together," The woman smiled, "We're getting married after the baby gets here."

Jackie smiled and looked at Fez before wrapping him in a hug again, "Oh my God, Fez! Congratulations! On both things."

"Thank you, Jackie," He smiled, returning her hug.

Jackie stood back and looked down at Barbara, "You too. I bet you're just excited."

"I'm excited to get it out of me," Barbara said, "The doctor says he's going to have to be delivered by C-Section. He's a big one."

"Well, do you got any names for him?" Jackie asked.

"Steven. We're going to call him Steven," Barbara smiled joyfully.

"That's a great name," Jackie smiled back.

As she stood there and talked to Fez and his soon to be wife, she realized something. She realized how much of her friend's lives she missed. Steven was going to propose to his girlfriend who Jackie hadn't even met, Fez was getting married soon and had a son on the way, Michael was married now and had Betsy, who by now was five and had started Kindergarten.

Sometimes she wishes she had never gone into show business and started her own life in the normal way.

0-0-0-0-0

"Why did you never tell me Fez was having a kid?" Jackie asked Eric as he watched her unpack.

He was lying on his back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling, "I forgot."

"You forgot Fez's fiancé was pregnant?" Jackie asked, a small smirk playing at her lips.

"It just slipped my mind," Eric said, shrugging his frail shoulders.

Jackie rolled her eyes and smiled, "You're useless."

Eric smiled and sat up, "Thank you."

Jackie rolled her eyes once more and went back to unpacking. Never in a million years did she think it would be so easy to be around Eric Forman. It's almost as if he had just wiped his mind of all the arguing and bickering they used to do back in the day.

"Anyway," Jackie went on, "Where was Donna tonight?"

Eric shrugged, "Beats me. Probably at some rally or something. She's always going to those."

"What goes on at those things anyway?" Jackie asked, genuinely curious.

Eric just shrugged and said, "Sometimes the girls take their tops off."

Jackie jerked her head up and cried, "What?!"

"Yeah, they write stuff on their chests. It's some way of protest I guess," Eric said, "But those are just the radical ones. Those girls are usually kind of rude. The moderate feminists are actually pretty nice. Donna tries staying away from the radical side, she says they fight dirty."

"It sure sounds like it," Jackie said.

"When me and Donna were still together I went to a few protests," Eric said, "They were usually pretty peaceful, but every once in a while it gets a little crazy."

"What do they usually talk about?" Jackie asked. She's been so out of loop with the real world, she didn't even know what was going on lately.

"Right now the big thing is getting women in the workplace," Eric said, "Which is pretty cool. My mom is a nurse, and she had the highest income of both my parents. You know my dad was out of job a couple times when I was a kid. It's pretty cool to see women like my mom trying to provide for their families too."

Jackie smiled. Eric never used to speak too highly of his parents. He usually just complained about the things they didn't let him do.

"Besides what I saw tonight… How are your parents?" Jackie asked.

"They're good," Eric replied quickly, "Dad's starting to have some back problems, it's getting hard for him to work. Mom's still got a while before she can retire, so she's trying to keep them both fed. It's easier now that me and Laurie aren't around."

"So they know you don't have a job yet?" Jackie asked curiously.

Eric nodded, "Yeah… I'm probably going to move soon and find a job somewhere else. I'd rather not stay in Wisconsin all my life."

"Move? Where are you going to go?" Jackie asked, a little saddened by that. She liked hanging out with him every day. He was entertaining.

"Anywhere really, I just want to get out of here," Eric then smiled and looked up at Jackie, "Want to come with me?"

Jackie scoffed and shook her head, "Eric. I have to finish school first."

"Who says?" Eric asked, scooting closer to her, "You don't have to have a college degree. Nobody's forcing you."

"I need a job, Eric," Jackie said.

"Look at me," Eric gestured to himself, "I have a bachelor's degree in music theory. I got that degree so I could become a music teacher. I can't get one damn job. Not even any interviews. I'm useless. So come on, come with me to… New York!"

"New York?" Jackie asked, smiling, "Eric, are you sure you can handle a completely different place? I mean, moving to another small town is one thing, but to a massive city? Come on."

"No, you come on," Eric said, standing now, "Do you want to go to school for some shitty degree just to get a job that you hate?"

"No, but—"

"No buts. You're coming to New York with me, Jackie. You're my road trip buddy," Eric said, "I need somebody to go with me. I need someone to talk me out of stupid things. You know what happens when I do stupid things."

"You get hurt?" Jackie questioned, smiling a tad.

"Exactly," Eric smiled, "And you wouldn't want this face getting hurt, would you?"

Jackie smiled and rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't dream of it."

Eric smiled knowingly at her, making her blush before he went on, "Then you'll come with me?"

Jackie smirked and then said, "I'll think about it."

"Great!" Eric smiled started to step towards the door, "It's getting late and we got a long day tomorrow. You think long and hard about it, alright?"

Jackie nodded and put a t-shirt in the dresser drawer, "Alright."

"Alright," Eric opened the door and started to step out before he turned back and called, "And Jackie?"

"Yeah?" She hummed, looking up at him.

"You weren't being sarcastic, were you?" Eric asked, "About my face?"

Jackie blushed and smiled, rolling her eyes for the thousandth time tonight before she bravely said, "No. I wasn't being sarcastic."

Now Eric blushed. He was just teasing her. Apparently she wasn't returning that favor.

"Goodnight Eric," Jackie smiled sweetly, her face still warm.

"Goodnight," He said before he left the room and closed the door.

Jackie looked down at the bed where her clothes lay. What did you just say, Jackie? She thought to herself. There was no way you had a thing for Eric.

Was there?


	5. Chapter 5

A/N – Welcome to another chapter! Thanks for sticking with it. I like writing these characters like this, I think it sort of fits them. And this is much more lighthearted than my last story, so… Anyway, to TieDyeJackson – Thanks for your review, it made me smile. Donna might show up a little bit later in the story, and if she does she will most likely be a little butt hurt over Eric and Jackie's relationship, but I like writing drama, so if she does show up, I'm looking forward to it. Thanks again for your review.

Disclaimer – I don't own the show or it's characters, obviously.

November 22, 1984

Jackie woke up a little later than usual that next morning. She didn't know why, she usually wakes up early. Maybe it's the bed she slept in. It was very comfortable. So she got out of bed at God knows what time and got her clothes together before she went to get in the shower.

It took her overall twenty minutes to get ready for the day, but she didn't put on makeup this morning, which was odd. She just didn't feel like it, she was basically around family, they wouldn't care anyway.

So Jackie went downstairs after finishing up her morning routine and immediately smelled the delicious food that was being cooked inside the kitchen for dinner tonight.

Jackie made her way into the kitchen and saw Kitty and Eric in there, both of them preparing the meal. Well, Kitty was preparing the meal, Eric looked like he was just trying to annoy her.

"Good morning, Mrs. Forman," Jackie greeted as she stood by the door as he swung shut.

Kitty looked up and smiled warmly at the girl, "Oh, good morning Jackie. Did you sleep well?"

"Better than I have in a long time," Jackie smiled and nodded before Eric garnered her attention.

"Hey Jackie, look. It's me. And my face," He smiled smugly.

Knowing he was referring to what she said last night, she blushed and said, "Shut up."

He just chuckled and went back to doing whatever it was he was doing. Jackie noticed Kitty was smiling as well, as if she enjoyed their bickering.

"What are you guys cooking?" Jackie asked as she stepped over to the two.

"I'm getting the green bean casserole ready to go in the oven," Kitty replied as she chopped onions, "Nobody eats it except for Laurie, but she usually takes some home with her, so… I figured I'd just make some for her."

"That's sweet," Jackie said, looking over at Eric, "And what are you doing?"

Eric smiled and suddenly brought his hidden hand up and revealed it to be stuffed inside the uncooked turkey, "I'm preparing the turkey."

Jackie smiled smugly and hummed, "Looks like you're doing a good job."

"No, he's being a nuisance," Kitty suddenly said, turning to look up at her youngest, "Eric, I love you, but every year you do the same thing. I'm trying to cook and you just stand in here and play with the food. Can you please go outside or… Anywhere but here."

"But mom," Eric groaned, "This is a learning experience."

"Well then, you must have a learning disability," Kitty said and Jackie had to stifle a laugh because of that.

"Mom, you know the doctors said I did," Eric groaned sarcastically, "You know I'm sensitive about it."

Kitty set the kitchen knife down and turned to her son, "Eric, get your hand out of the turkey and go outside."

"But—"

"Eric," Kitty warned.

"Fine," Eric huffed before he brought his hand and looked his mother in the eye, pointing to the turkey, "But you know he was enjoying it."

"Eric!" Kitty snapped, annoyed with him.

Eric finally pulled his hand out of the turkey and set it down on the counter, "Fine. Come on Jackie, we don't need her anyway."

Kitty went back to cutting onions and said, "Until tonight when you're hungry and you'll be begging for forgiveness."

Jackie walked past Kitty and over to Eric as he headed for the back door, "I'll be back for you, turkey."

Kitty laughed lightly, but you could still see the annoyance in her eyes, "Jackie, please get him out of here before I use this knife in a violent way."

Jackie smiled and put her hand on Eric's arm, pulling him through the doorway and outside to the driveway. She closed the door and looked up at Eric, but he had already shrugged out of her grasp and was heading towards the hose.

"You woke up in a rare form today," Jackie remarked as she crossed her arms and watched Eric turn on the taps and wash his hands off.

"I'm always like this," Eric replied, "I'd be in rare form if I were depressed."

"That's true," Jackie said. Since she's reconnected with him she's never seen him in a bad mood. He's always smiling and cracking jokes. He's just a happy guy in general.

After a minute, Eric turned off the water and dried his hands on his navy blue sweater. He got most of the water off as he turned to Jackie, and just as he stood up straight a small voice cried, "Uncle Ricky!"

The two turned around and saw five year old Betsy Kelso running up the driveway, both her parents right behind her. Eric smiled and held out his arms, "Buggy!"

Betsy jumped in her 'uncle's' arms and wrapped her small arms around his neck as he picked her up. Michael and Brooke stopped in front of Jackie and Brooke called to Eric, "Did she kick you out again?"

Eric nodded as he rested Betsy on his hip, "Yeah. She doesn't know what she's missing, though."

"Oh, I think she does," Brooke smiled, "That's why you're out here and not in there."

Eric adjusted his shoulders as Betsy asked, "Uncle Ricky, can we go to the park?"

Eric looked down at Betsy and responded with, "Well, I don't know. Do you think your parents are okay with that?"

Betsy turned her head to look at her parents, her brown eyes pouting. Brooke smiled and shrugged, "She's been talking about seeing you all day yesterday and all morning, go ahead. Tire her out."

"Alright!" Eric celebrated, giving Betsy a high five, "To the park we go."

"Just be back by lunchtime," Michael said, holding up his daughter's lunchbox, "I worked hard to make this sandwich for you."

"Okay daddy," Betsy promised, smiling at him.

"Alright, I love you," Michael smiled, waving to his daughter.

"I love you, too," Betsy smiled back, wiggling her stubby fingers at him.

Michael and Brooke started towards the door, both greeting Jackie on the way by, "Are you going with him?" Brooke asked Jackie.

Jackie nodded, "His mother gave me strict instructions to keep him alive."

Brooke smiled and giggled softly, "Alright. We'll catch up when you get back."

"Okay," Jackie smiled.

"I'll see you in a bit," Michael said as he squeezed her shoulder.

"Are we going or not?" Eric suddenly asked, a little impatient.

"Betsy, tell your Uncle Ricky to stop whining," Brooke said, glaring playfully at Eric.

"Stop it, Uncle Ricky!" Betsy snapped, smacking him lightly on the top of the head.

"Ow," Eric groaned as Jackie turned back to Brooke.

"I'll see you guys later," Jackie smiled as she walked over to Eric and Betsy.

Brooke and Michael walked into the kitchen through the backdoor as Jackie, Eric, and Betsy started down the driveway.

"Betsy," Eric started as he set the young girl down on her feet, "Have you even said anything to your godmother?"

Betsy then turned to Jackie and smiled sweetly, "Auntie Jackie!"

Jackie smiled and hugged the young girl, "Hi sweetie. How have you been?"

"Good!" She chirped as she pulled away and grabbed Eric's hand, "I started Kindergarten!"

"So I've heard," Jackie smiled as the three stopped at the end of the driveway suddenly. Both girls turned their heads and looked up at Eric as he appeared confused, "Eric?"

"You know… I don't remember how to get to the park," Eric said, rubbing his chin, "Bug, do you remember how to get to the park?"

Betsy smiled and looked up at Eric, "You don't remember?"

"Bug, you know I can be a bit silly," Eric said, rubbing his temples, "Things get all mixed up in here sometimes. I think you're going to have to lead the way."

"You need to start focusing!" Betsy complained, though she smiled as she released Eric's hand and started walking a few paces ahead of the two.

"I know," Eric smiled as Jackie walked alongside him.

Eric and Jackie followed Betsy down the sidewalk all the way to the park, Jackie actually feeling completely happy for once.

0-0-0-0-0

"You should really give them a listen sometime," Eric said as he and Jackie sat on the bench and watched Betsy play on the jungle gym, "I know you're not really the rock n' roll kind of gal, but I really do think you'll like them."

"I'll think about it," Jackie said, her arms wrapped around herself to keep the cold out, "I just don't know if I can take a band that names themselves after rapid eye movement seriously."

"It's a clever name," Eric defended, "The guys voice is amazing. It's unlike anything I've ever heard before."

"I don't know," Jackie shrugged, "I'm partial to Whitesnake."

"Ugh," Eric groaned, leaning back against the bench, "Of course you are."

Jackie rolled her eyes and looked out at the park to check on Betsy. She was hanging upside down on the bar above the slide, making Jackie a little nervous.

"Be careful, Betsy!" Jackie called anxiously.

"She's fine," Eric said, relaxing his shoulders, "She's learning how to do tricks on bars like that in her gymnastics class."

"She takes gymnastics?" Jackie asked. There was so much she didn't know, it made her feel a little bad.

Eric nodded, "Yeah, for about six months now. She's a natural. Very graceful."

"Really?" Jackie asked, a little impressed.

"Yeah, she really enjoys it," Eric said, "She wants to go to the Olympics one day. She keeps at it like this it's a possibility. All the best gymnasts started at her age."

"Hm," Jackie hummed.

"Yeah," Eric said, looking over at Jackie, just now realizing she was shivering, "You alright?"

"What?" She looked over at him and then realized what he was on about and replied with, "Oh, yeah. I just forgot my jacket, that's all. I'll be fine."

She wasn't even wearing a sweater, it was a short sleeved, plain colored shirt. Eric huffed and scooted closer to her, throwing his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close, but not too close. Didn't want to make it awkward.

Jackie was surprised at the sudden act of affection. She was tense at first, but quickly relaxed when she warmed up instantly.

"Thank you," She said after a moment of silence.

"No problem," Eric replied, watching Betsy play.

Jackie turned her attention back to the playground, watching as Betsy slid down the slide, "You're good with her."

"I'm just a kid in a twenty-four year old man's body," Eric shrugged.

Jackie smiled and then said, "Bug. That's a cute nickname."

"Yeah. I started calling her that after she went through her ladybug phase," Eric said, "She was three when that happened. I haven't stopped since. It's just a habit now, I'll probably always call her that."

Jackie leaned her head against Eric's shoulder, making him tense up a little bit. It was her turn to make him feel awkward, he's had the high ground for too long.

"Well, she obviously loves you to pieces," Jackie smiled, but it only lasted a second, because she frowned a moment later, "I should've stayed. I've missed so much."

Eric looked down at her and offered some comfort, "Oh come on, Jackie. You did what you thought would make you happy, there's nothing wrong with that. So what, it didn't turn out the way you wanted it to. You learn from your mistakes and move on. You're here now, that's what's important."

Jackie smiled and looked up at him, "When did you get so wise?"

"Adult life changes a man, Jackie," Eric joked, making Jackie roll her eyes.

"You're a dork," Jackie remarked.

"A wise dork," Eric smiled, sitting up and looking down at his watch, "We should probably get going, it's about lunchtime now. Bug! It's time to go!"

"Aw…" Betsy groaned, sliding down the slide.

"I know, it's a tragedy," Eric said sarcastically, "But I don't want to get in trouble. You wouldn't want that would you?"

Betsy shook her head as she ran over to the two, "No."

"Alright then," Eric said, both him and Jackie getting up from the bench, "I'm hungry anyway, I'm sure your belly's growling too."

"A little," Betsy shrugged.

"Well then, let's go," Eric said, grabbing her hand as the three started towards the sidewalk.

"Do you remember how to get home?" Betsy asked.

"Oh!" Eric smacked himself on the forehead, a crinkle in his brow, "I didn't even think about that! How do we get home?"

Betsy giggled, "Follow me!"

"Oh, what would I do without you," Eric said as Jackie smiled. They were so cute together.

"You'd probably get lost," Betsy replied, making Jackie giggle.

"I am lost!" Eric replied.

"Well lucky I'm here, huh?" Betsy replied sassily.

"Yeah, lucky," Eric said, "You're my hero."

"I know," Betsy said as she led the two down the sidewalk.

0-0-0-0-0

"It was delicious, mom," Eric said as he finished up helping his mother clean up the kitchen, "Thank you."

"I'm glad you liked it, sweetheart," Kitty beamed at her youngest child, "Are you still going out with your friends?"

Eric shrugged, "Jackie's coming with me, I don't know if anybody else wants to though."

"You never mentioned going anywhere," Jackie said as she sat at the table by the backdoor.

Eric turned to look at her and shrugged, "Yeah, but I just figured you'd go anyway, so…"

Jackie sighed and rolled her eyes, "Where are we going?"

"There's a new bowling alley across the street from the movie theater," Eric said, "I want to go check it out."

Jackie shrugged, "Cool. I haven't been bowling in a while."

"Great," Eric smiled, "I'll go see who else wants to go."

"I'll be here," Jackie said, leaning back in the chair.

"Alright, I'll be right back," Eric then pushed through the door to the living room and greeted the room with a smile, "Hey, me and Jackie are going bowling, anyone else want to go?"

"Sorry man, I got to get Betsy home," Kelso said, holding his tired daughter in his arms, "She's getting sleepy... Hey Betsy, you want to tell Uncle Eric goodbye? You probably won't see him again for a while."

Betsy squirmed a little bit and Kelso put her on her feet as she sleepily turned to Eric, holding her arms out. Eric smiled sweetly and knelt down, hugging her gently.

"Why do you have to go back?" Betsy asked, her tiny fists clinging to his shirt like a lice.

"I'm know, but I have to go back," Eric said, "I'll come and visit in the spring, okay?"

Betsy nodded into his shoulder, "Okay… I'll miss you."

Eric nodded, "I'll miss you, too… Now go on, I think mommy and daddy are tired, too."

Betsy pulled away and looked at Eric, putting her hands on either side of his face, "You need to show her."

Eric furrowed his brow, curious as to what she was on about, then he figured it out and nodded, "I know. I will, I promise."

"Good," Betsy said, giving him a kiss on the cheek before she stepped back, "Bye-bye, Uncle Ricky."

"Bye-bye, Bug," Eric said, standing up.

"We'll see you later, Eric," Brooke said as she hugged him tightly.

"Alright, drive safe," Eric said as they pulled apart.

"You too," Brooke returned before her, Kelso, and Betsy started past him.

Kelso patted him on the shoulder on the way by, "See ye' later, man."

"See ye'," Then they left.

Eric turned back to the room. He knew Fez wouldn't want to go with him, he was constantly by his fiancé's side, ready for the baby to come any day now.

"Donna? You want to go?" Eric asked his ex-girlfriend and one time fiancé. God knows how that life would've been.

"Sorry Eric, I've got an early morning tomorrow, so… Maybe some other time?" Donna suggested, scrunching her shoulders.

Eric nodded, "Yeah, sure."

"I'll go, Forman," Hyde suddenly said, his girlfriend tagging along behind him.

"Yeah, me too," She smiled.

Eric smiled back, "Alright. I'll go get Jackie then."

Everybody said their goodbyes to everyone and then they went back into the kitchen, where Jackie was still patiently waiting.

"We're all here, let's go," Eric said as he entered the room, that contagious smile still on his face.

Jackie got to her feet and faced the three and noticed the dark haired girl next to Hyde, "Hi, I'm Jackie. I don't think we've met."

The dark haired girl suddenly smiled and shook Jackie's hand, "I'm June, it's nice to meet you."

"Oh, you're Steven's girlfriend," Jackie smiled.

"And your Steven's ex-girlfriend," June said in return.

"Yeah, that's me," Jackie said, feeling a little awkward now.

"Hey, no need to feel weird about it," June said, easing Jackie, "It's not that big of a deal. We're all grown up's here."

"Yeah, I know. Sorry, I just didn't know what to expect," Jackie replied, still feeling a bit awkward.

"It's no problem," June said, smiling, "I'm just glad that there's somebody that knows all of Steven's darkest secrets that I can talk to now… Like the fact that he LOVES Frank Sinatra."

"June," Steven groaned, sort of glaring at his girlfriend.

"He still listens to that?" Jackie smiled, "I thought it was just a faze."

"Nope, he owns a vinyl version of his greatest hits," June smiled.

Steven furrowed his brow and looked over at Eric, who was just grinning joyfully, "What the hell are you smiling at, Forman?"

"Oh, you know," Eric then put his arms around Steven, Jackie and June and said, "I just love my friends."

"Get off of me," Steven groaned, pushing his cheerful friend off of him.

"Come on, let's get going before it gets crowded," June giggled at the boys before she and Jackie went out the back door, Eric and Steven following closely behind.

0-0-0-0-0

They had been at the bowling alley for a couple of hours at this point and Jackie had decided it was time to take a break. They had played three rounds now and Eric had won all three, and he didn't know how to stop bragging about it.

June was getting the group some more fries, so Jackie was sitting on the bench with Steven as Eric continued to bowl by himself.

"How's the college life treating you?" Steven suddenly asked as he finished off their basket of fries.

Jackie looked up at him and shrugged, "It's a little tough right now, but I've been told the first years always the hardest. I just need to get used to all the schoolwork again."

"Made any friends?" Steven asked.

"Not really," Jackie said, "Linda's my roommate, but she's always busy. She's a bit of a party girl, so… I just hang out with Eric most of the time since he doesn't really do anything."

"So I've heard," Steven smiled knowingly, "So you two have gotten close then?"

Jackie shrugged, "Yeah… He's different than I remember."

Steven shook his head, "No, he's not. You just never paid attention or tried to get to know him. Sure, he's more confident than he used to be, but… He's still a dork and… Skinny."

Jackie giggled, "Yeah, I guess. He seems so happy now, though. Is he ever in a bad mood?"

Steven shook his head, "Not really. It takes a lot to piss off Forman these days. And even if he is in a bad mood, it doesn't generally last very long."

Jackie looked over to Eric to see what he was doing. He was now attempting some trick shots. He just rolled the ball and slid down on his knees, and when he hit most of the pins he fist pumped and yelled out a "Yes!"

"You like him," Steven smiled.

"What?!" Jackie tensed up as she turned to Steven in surprise, "No I don't."

"Then why did you just get so defensive?" Steven asked.

"I didn't," Jackie said, in a defensive way. She wasn't really helping her case here, "And… So what if I did. Would you have a problem with that?"

Steven shook his head, "No. I mean, I'm no guy to get all gushy or emotional or anything—"

"No kidding," Jackie replied in a snarky way.

"But," He started again, giving Jackie a look, "Forman's a good guy and he'd treat you nice. And you would in return. You two are the same in some ways."

"How so?" Jackie questioned, crossing her arms and raising a curious eyebrow.

"Well, you both want a partner who's ready to commit," Steven started off, "You're both care free and confident, for the most part anyway. You're both nice and, dare I say, caring. I actually surprised you two haven't hooked up sooner."

"Okay, we are not 'hooked up', okay?" Jackie defended, "And besides, I just like him as a friend, that's all."

"Hey guys!" Eric suddenly called, garnering the attention of both his friends, "Look, I can even do it without even looking!"

Eric covered his eyes with his hand and rolled the ball down the lane, and to the surprise of both Steven and Jackie, he hit a strike.

"Did I get it?" Eric asked before he uncovered his eyes and beamed when he saw the result. He was so excited he started jumping up and down like a little kid, "Yeah! Who's the man?! I am!"

Jackie laughed and looked up at Steven, "Did you give him something before we left?"

"No," Steven said, "But he did eat those sugar sticks and drink that energy drink he bought at the gas station before we came in. Forman's like a child, he can only handle so much at one time."

Jackie giggled and turned back to watch Eric preform some more trick shots, still debating in her head if she'd take him up on his offer of tagging along to New York with him.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N – Thanks for the reviews. Sorry about this chapter, I don't like it very much, I've never been good with fillers. I'm also a bit under the weather today, so that could also have something to do with it. The weather has been changing rapidly where I live. Last week this time it was 75 degrees Fahrenheit, and now it's only 25. It changed that much in a week. Why? Just pick what you want to be. Warm or cold! Preferably warm! Anyway, here ye' go. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer – Read the previous chapters.

"See ye' later, man," Eric bid farewell to his adopted brother as he began to walk down the driveway with his girlfriend, June.

"See ye', Forman," Steven waved to him and Jackie, "Call me sometime, Jackie. I somehow miss hearing your whining voice."

Jackie rolled her eyes, "I'll try."

"Alright, see ye' guys later," Steven called once more as Eric and Jackie waved them off until they disappeared around the corner.

"Oh, what a night," Eric said as he stretched his arms above his head.

"Yeah, it was fun," Jackie smiled, "That's the first time I've done anything 'normal' since I retired from acting."

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," Eric smiled, patting Jackie on the back lightly, "We should probably hit the hay, we've got get on the road in the morning, so…"

Jackie raised an eyebrow at Eric, "You, Eric Forman, going to bed before midnight? That doesn't sound right."

"You're right," Eric said, "Got any ideas, then?"

Jackie thought for a moment. Should she tell him? She was quite sick of her life as of right now, she needed to do something daring. Something… different. And unexpected. College wasn't really her scene anyhow.

Jackie shrugged, "Want to go to New York?"

Eric was quiet for a moment, as if he didn't believe what he just heard, but then he said, "Wait? Are you being serious?"

Jackie nodded, "Yes, I'm being serious. Do you want to go or not?"

Eric then smiled, "Yeah! Let's do it!"

0-0-0-0-0

November 23, 1984

Eric and Jackie packed their bags and put them in the car quite quickly. Eric wrote a note for his parents, telling them he'd call them when he gets home, but he left out the part of him running away to New York City with Jackie, he'd let them know all of that business when he actually got there.

So they got in the car and they went. They listened to the radio for several hours and talked about the stupidest of things. They were both excited, but Jackie was a little nervous. What if this didn't go as planned? What if she couldn't find a job? What if they couldn't find a place to live? They were both unemployed.

But Eric had a plan, apparently.

"I got money," He declared, "I've been saving it up for a moment just like this."

"How long have you been saving it?" Jackie asked, gazing at him curiously as he drove.

"Since I was twelve," Eric said, and Jackie jerked with surprise.

"What?!" Jackie exclaimed, "How did you know you'd need it one day?"

Eric shrugged, "I just figured if I ever had an emergency or was just desperate for money, I'd have a backup. I like to be prepared, so…"

"How much do you have?" Jackie asked curiously, still surprised.

Eric shrugged, "I don't know, several thousand dollars, probably."

"Jesus…" Jackie said, looking out the windshield.

"I'm a genius, I know," Eric flaunted sarcastically.

"More like a hoarder," Jackie smiled.

"You can't hoard money, only save it," Eric responded in a matter of fact way.

Jackie just rolled her eyes and looked out the window. It annoyed her that he always had the last word. It didn't used to be that way. He'd become much better at having the higher ground, it used to be easy to take him down. How did he get more sarcastic is the question she should be asking.

"We're going to have to stop for gas soon," Eric said, now looking over at the clock on the dashboard, "The sun will be coming up in about an hour, we could get breakfast before the restaurants get too busy. You hungry?"

Jackie nodded, "A little bit. Just get some gas first, though."

Eric nodded and started looking at the exit signs for a gas station. It only took him a minute to find one and he quickly pulled off onto the exit. After they pulled into the gas station, Eric pulled out some money and handed it to Jackie so she could pay for the gas.

Jackie paid for it and put the pump in as Eric sat on the hood of the car, shivering a little bit, "A bit chilly isn't it?"

"Well, we are in the north in the middle of winter, so…" Jackie said, shrugging, "I thought your 'genius' mind would figure that one out."

Eric smiled, "Even geniuses can have their struggles."

Jackie snickered and looked down at the pump, "You know, we're probably not going to pay for a place by ourselves."

Eric shrugged, "So we'll find a tenant."

"You'd live with someone you don't even know?" Jackie asked.

"You do that in college," Eric shrugged again.

"Yeah, but that's in Wisconsin," Jackie said, "This is New York."

"We'll be fine," Eric said calmly, "Don't worry. If someone tries to murder us, I'll let them stab me first so you can run."

Jackie laughed and topped off the car before she put the pump back, "You're an idiot."

Eric just smiled and got down off of the hood, rubbing his hands together to create a little bit of warmth, "You ready?"

"Let's go get us some breakfast," Jackie smiled, patting her stomach.

0-0-0-0-0

But they didn't get breakfast right away, they drove for another hour. The sun was starting to come up, so at least there was some light now. Jackie was yawning every other minute now, she was so tired. She's been up since ten yesterday morning, eventually that was bound to catch up with her.

"Why don't you just take a nap?" Eric asked for the millionth time in the past thirty minutes, "I'll wake you up when we I find some place to eat."

"I don't like sleeping in the car," Jackie said, "I always get a pain in my neck that lasts for like, three days. It also makes me feel nauseous when I wake up."

Eric furrowed his brow, "You're fucking weird."

Jackie smiled lightly and looked over at him, "Look who's talking."

Eric smiled back and checked his review mirror before looking back at the road quickly, "It's nice out here early in the morning."

"In the middle of nowhere?" Jackie questioned, one eyebrow raised.

"It's quiet, there's nobody out," Eric said, "It's nice."

"Yeah, I guess so," Jackie shrugged.

They were running out of things to talk about. After spending all night in a car together, things tend to get a little boring after a while. They needed a little time apart at this point.

Eric squinted as he looked up ahead, seeing something on the side of the road, "What's that?"

Jackie looked ahead and spotted a figure as well, "I can't tell, we're too far."

Eric smiled a second later, "It's a hitchhiker… We should see if he wants a lift."

"He's a hitchhiker, of course he wants a lift," Jackie said sarcastically, "We're not picking him up. He could be dangerous or something."

Eric shook his head, "No, it'll be fine. Maybe he's nice? He could keep us entertained for a while. We need a little more fun in our life, anyhow."

"Eric, please don't," Jackie begged. She could be quite paranoid, she got used to it being a celebrity. There were always creeps trying to interact with her then.

"Come on, it'll be fine," Eric said, slowing down.

"Eric…" Jackie whined as he slowed to a stop, starting to roll down his window.

"Look, he's just a kid, see?" Eric said, "Nothing to be afraid of."

"So you think," Jackie said as the car stopped and the window rolled all the way down.

"Hey, you need a lift?" Eric called as the kid stepped over to the car.

He suddenly kneeled down, leaning on the windowsill on Jackie's side of the car, "Yes, that would be good."

"Where you headed?" Eric asked.

"New York," He replied.

Eric smiled back at the boy smiling at him and tilted his head towards the backseat, "Get in."

"Gracias," He said, smiling.

The kid got in the back seat, Jackie still very tense and a little mad at Eric for letting a stranger get into their car.

"What's your name, kid?" Eric asked as the boy shut the door and put his bag in the floorboard.

"Ayrton," The boy answered, rubbing his hands together for warmth, "Ayrton Massa."

"Sounds foreign," Eric remarked as he pulled back onto the road again, "Where you from?"

"Sayulita," Ayrton said, "It is in Mexico. My mother is from there. My father is from Brazil."

He spoke with an accent, meaning he lived in Mexico for a good span of his life. At least until he was a teenager.

"How old are you?" Eric asked.

"Eighteen, sir," He said politely, hugging himself for warmth.

"Eighteen?" Eric said, eyebrows raised, "That's a little young to be out here by yourself. Where are your parents, anyway?"

"My mother died when I was thirteen," Ayrton explained, tucking his hands under his arms to warm up his fingers. He stood out there for a while, "My dad hasn't been the same since. He got really sad, then he got really angry. He started being mean at me, so I decided I should just run away."

"Sorry about that," Eric said, "You got any idea what you're going to do when you get to New York?"

The boy frowned and looked down, "No…"

Eric then smiled, "Yeah, me neither."

The boy looked up, "Are you running away, too?"

Eric shrugged, "Sort of. I got my friend here to drop out of college and now we're being spontaneous. We'll figure it out when we get there."

Ayrton smiled, feeling a little better now that he knew he wasn't the only one who didn't know what he was doing, "What is your name?"

"Eric Forman," He introduced himself, "And this is my friend, Jackie Burkhart."

The boy's eyes widened, "Jackie Burkhart? From the TV Jackie Burkhart?"

Jackie blushed a little and nodded, "Yes, that would be me."

She seemed a little upset, the boy noticed, "Are you okay, miss?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Jackie replied.

The boy thought for a moment before he asked, "You did not want to pick me up, did you?"

Jackie sighed and tried defending herself, "No, it's fine. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Because I can get out if you want me to," The boy said, grabbing his bag from the floorboard.

"No, no. It's fine," Eric interjected, "Jackie's just not used to the real world. She thinks everybody's out to get her."

"The world's dangerous, Eric," Jackie snapped back, sort of glaring at him.

"Yes, it is, but he's not," Eric defended.

"How do you know?" Jackie asked, "You just met him."

"I should leave," The boy said, picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

"Are you sure?" Eric asked, his brow furrowed.

Ayrton nodded, "Yes, I am sure."

Eric sighed and started slowing down the car and pulling over to the side of the road before stopping completely, "Sorry."

Ayrton opened the door and looked at Eric, shrugging, "It is okay, I am sure I will find another ride. Bless you, Eric Forman."

Eric smiled at the boy and waved as he closed the door and started down the road again.

Eric looked at Jackie as he stayed on the side of the road and said, "Jackie, look at him."

Jackie rolled her eyes and looked ahead at Ayrton, shivering and looking for someone nice enough to pick him up.

"There are bad people out there," Eric said, looking at the boy, "You wouldn't want one of them coming by and picking him would you?"

Jackie's gaze softened, but only a little as she looked over at Eric, "Well… No, but—"

"He's so skinny, too," Eric said, "It doesn't look like he's eaten in days. And he's so cold. He's wearing a t-shirt for God's sake."

Jackie looked out of the windshield again. The boy had one arm tucked into himself as the other reached up to wipe his nose. Jackie sighed and dropped her head, "I hate you, Eric…"

Eric smiled as Jackie opened the door and stepped out, "Hey! Kid!"

Ayrton turned to look at Jackie curiously and hopefully as she gestured for him to come over to her.

"Come here," She said.

Ayrton quickly jogged over to her, a curious furrow in his brow as Jackie brought him around to the back of the car and opened the trunk. He watched as she opened Eric's bag and started looking for something for the kid to wear. He was a little shorter than Eric, but he had slightly broader shoulders. Jackie pulled out a green jacket for the boy and handed it to him.

"Put this on," Jackie ordered, shivering herself now.

Ayrton quickly grabbed it, dropping his bag for a quick second and putting the jacket on quickly, zipping it up and soaking in the slight warmth it brought.

Jackie closed the trunk as Ayrton picked up his bag again, then Jackie sighed, "Get in."

Ayrton smiled as he quickly grabbed Jackie's arms, making her tense up, "Muchas gracias!" He then kissed both sides of her face before he released her and ran back to the car, getting in immediately.

Jackie stood there for a moment, trying to take in what had just happened and she felt her lips twitch into a small smile. She sighed again and rubbed her forehead before she went around to her side of the car again and got in.

The things Eric Forman could talk her into.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N – This one's a bit longer than the last chapter. I thought I was going into writer's block again, but I'm good. It was a false alarm. Thanks for the reviews, I always enjoy them. Now you can (hopefully) enjoy this next chapter. Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

"So, where are you guys from?" Ayrton asked as he scarfed down a plate of pancakes at the restaurant the group had decided to stop at.

"Wisconsin," Eric replied, pouring a mountain of syrup on his mountain of pancakes, "A small little town called Point Place. It's nice though if you like the calm and quiet lifestyle."

"What did you do for fun around there?" Ayrton asked curiously.

Eric shrugged his shoulders, "There was a place called The Hub we used to go and hang out at, they had a pinball machine. There were two movie theaters and a couple of bowling alleys, other than that, not really much. We had to entertain ourselves most of the time, if we wanted to do anything really fun we had to go out of town."

"Eric, how much syrup do you really need?" Jackie asked, grabbing his arm as he continued pouring the sugary substance on his food.

"You're right," Eric said, putting the syrup down, "I need to leave room for whipped cream."

Eric then put out a hand, trying to wave down a waitress to ask for some as he asked the kid sitting across from him and Jackie, "Where you're from, what's it like?"

"It is nice," He replied, shrugging his shoulders as Eric quietly asked a waitress to go and get him some whipped cream, "It is by a beach, so I used to go there all the time. I want to go back sometimes, but we left for a reason."

"Why'd you leave?" Eric asked curiously.

"There were gangs that started hanging around," Ayrton said, "My brother got tangled up in the mess, he said he did it so I did not have to… When he died my father moved me and my sister away from there. We lived in Mexico City for a while, but then my dad got visas and now here I am."

"Sorry about your brother," Jackie finally spoke, offering a look of sympathy.

Ayrton smiled softly, "It is okay. It has been a couple years now, he was only trying to protect our family."

A waitress came by and gave Eric the whipped cream he was asking for, a smile on her face as Eric said, "Thank you."

The waitress smiled sweetly at him and turned to walk away, sort of strutting her stuff as she walked, looking back at Eric.

Jackie smiled and stifled a giggle, making Eric look over at her as he shook up the whipped cream can, "What?"

"You're telling me you didn't notice that?" Jackie smiled at him.

"Notice what?" Eric asked, a small smile gracing his lips and one eyebrow raised.

"She was checking you out," Jackie said, as if it were obvious, which it was.

"What? No she wasn't," Eric said, putting whipped cream on his pancakes.

"Yes, she was," Jackie said, looking over to Ayrton, "Wasn't she?"

Ayrton smiled a little and nodded, a mouthful of pancakes, "She was doing more than checking you out."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Eric asked the two.

"It means she was undressing you with her eyes," Ayrton replied, making Jackie giggle.

"No she wasn't," Eric defended again, finally deciding to eat the food on his plate.

"You're lying to yourself, Eric," Jackie said as she looked across to Ayrton, "And did you see the way she walked off?"

"Yeah, I enjoyed that part," Ayrton said.

Jackie rolled her eyes, "Ugh, men."

Ayrton smiled and Eric stuffed his face as Jackie sat back and looked out the window. It was going to be a long road trip.

0-0-0-0-0

They got to New York around three that afternoon. Ayrton had fallen asleep in the backseat, using his backpack as a pillow and Jackie and Eric have both been quiet for a while. Everyone was a little tired at this point.

Eric had to garner everyone's attention though when they entered NYC, by shouting, "Guys!"

Both of them jerked, Jackie having been half asleep. She sort of glared at Eric as she tugged at her ear, "What the hell, Eric!"

"Look," Eric said, pointing out the windshield.

The skyscrapers were beautiful, the mid-afternoon sky complementing their height nicely. Jackie looked out the window and felt her lips tug into a smile. She's only been to New York a couple of times, but she never really paid much attention to it, she missed all of the beauty.

"Wow," Ayrton said from the back seat, practically leaning against the window.

"You ever been to New York, kid?" Eric asked, smiling.

Ayrton shook his head, "No, I have just seen the photos. They do not do it justice… This is amazing."

"It is beautiful," Jackie said, enjoying the glamour of the city.

"My mom took me here when I was a little kid," Eric said, slowing down as they met the New York traffic, "There was a nurse's convention or something and she was one of the lucky ones who got to come. I went with her and I remember just loving it here… I knew then that I'd always end up back here, someday."

Jackie smiled as she sat back in her seat, "I didn't know you came here before."

Eric smiled and nodded, "The World Trade Center wasn't even finished yet. And look at it now."

The two other people in the car looked out the windshield, Ayrton leaning forward to see, and right out in front of them in clear view was the World Trade Center. Two beautiful towers, some of the tallest ones in the city.

"This place is… Amazing," Jackie said, but she yawned a moment later.

Eric cast a brief glance her way, "It'll have to be an early night though. We'll find somewhere to stay, go get something to eat, and then head in. I'm a little sleepy myself."

"I am going to have to find a job," Ayrton said from the backseat, "I need to find somewhere to live…"

"You didn't really think all of this through, did ye' kid?" Eric asked, turning right at the corner.

Ayrton shook his head, "I am eighteen, what did you expect?"

Eric smiled, "Yeah… But hey, if you want, you could stay with us for a while."

Ayrton furrowed his brow, "Oh no, I would not want to bother you. I am sure you have got your own lives to handle."

Eric shook his head, pursing his lips, "Kid, we're all runaways here. I've got no plans for the future… I guess we're all nobodies, huh?"

"I am not a nobody," Jackie defended, smacking Eric on the arm.

"I don't mean to be rude, Jackie, but… In a couple of years, when that show of yours is off the air, people are going to forget about you," Eric said, shrugging.

Jackie sighed, deciding not to argue, but she was still disappointed, "You're right… What am I even doing with my life?"

"You're a runaway," Eric said, smiling brightly, "That's pretty mysterious if you ask me. Where did you come from? Why did you run? Those are the questions people will be asking."

"But I didn't run from anything," Jackie said, giving Eric a sort of sad look.

"Then make something up," Eric suggested, adjusting his shoulders, "It'll be fun. Lighten up a bit, we're in New York now, there's no time for moping… Anyway, Ayrton. Do you want to stay with us for a while?"

"I do not want to intrude—"

"You're not intruding!" Eric cried happily, "It's been great having a new friend. I feel like you've got some stories to tell."

"If you do not mind, I would love to stay," Ayrton smiled sheepishly.

"Great!" Eric smiled, looking over at Jackie, "Right Jackie?"

Jackie nodded and smiled lightly, "Yeah, it's actually been fun having you around. You're pretty cool."

Ayrton smiled and blushed a little, not used to all the compliments, "Thank you both, so much."

Eric smiled again, "It's no problem, kid. Really."

The three drove through New York for about an hour before they found a decent and cheap hotel to stay in. They were just hoping they'd find some place to actually live here soon.

0-0-0-0-0

The three stayed in the hotel for three days when Eric came bustling in with a flier. The hotel was nice, but a little run down. The beds were creaky, and not very comfortable, but they managed. Eric called his parents the night they got there after they got back from eating. He told them they made it to where they had to be safely, then he dropped the bombshell. They were surprised that he had just run off to New York like he had, and a little upset that he had talked Jackie into it. Like most middle aged adults, they wanted the kids to have a nice education so they could have nice jobs, but Eric told them that Jackie had actually wanted to leave that night. They were also a little concerned that he had picked up a hitchhiker, but he assured them he was harmless.

After explaining everything to them in their short ten minute phone call, he told them goodnight and hung up, and now here he was three days later.

"Guys, guys!" Eric called as he entered the room, shutting the door behind him. Ayrton was on the bed watching TV, and Jackie was reading a magazine at the small table.

"What?" Jackie looked up at him quizzically, Ayrton doing the same.

"I think I may have found us somewhere to live," Eric said, holding up a flier, "Give me the phone."

Jackie got up out of her seat and let Eric sit down so he could use the telephone. He sat down and set the flier town on the table, picking up the phone and dialing the number on the flier before holding it up to his ear and waiting for a response.

"Hello?" A man's voice said a moment later.

"Hi, I'm calling about your flier, you're looking for a tenant?" Eric said, furrowing his brow.

"Oh yeah, one minute," The man pulled the phone away from his mouth and you could hear quietly, "Andrea, there's someone on the phone about the fliers!"

It was quiet for a moment, but then there was a shuffling on the other line and few words exchanged between the two before another man's voice said, "Hello?"

"Hi, I'm Eric Forman, you're looking for a tenant?" He asked again, this time to the landlord.

"Yes, I am," The man said, "Did you want to come by and see it?"

"It's only a hundred dollars a month?" Eric asked, looking down at the flier on the table.

"Yes it is," The other man confirmed.

Eric smiled then, "I'd love to come by and see it."

0-0-0-0-0

The three of them took the trip across to Greenwich Village where the apartment was. The place was above a bar that opened at five every afternoon and closed around one in the morning, unless it was a weekend, then it was open noon to five the next morning.

The three got out of their car and walked up to the front of the building, trying to figure out how to get in. Eric looked up at the apartment above the bar and saw the window was open. Eric stepped back, garnering the attention of his friends before he shouted, "Yo, let us in!"

Jackie smacked Eric on the arm, "They're going to think we're robbers or something if you yell at them like that!"

Eric was about to retort when a voice shouted back, "Are you Eric?!"

Eric looked up and saw a man with shaggy blonde hair sticking his head out the window and looking down at them, "Yeah, we're here to see the apartment!"

"One second!" The man went back into the apartment and the three waited there for a minute.

After about two minutes of waiting, they saw through the glass door the blonde man coming towards them. They stepped back away from the door and waited for him to unlock it, which only took him a second and then he opened the door.

"Come in," He said, holding the door for them.

The three passed by him, Jackie turning back to look at him, "There's three of us, I hope that's not a problem."

The man shook his head, "No, Andrea's had plenty of tenants living here at the same time before. It's no problem at all. But you will all have to pay your own share."

Jackie nodded and followed the man as he passed by them. She'd have to find a job, so would Ayrton. Eric was settled for right now, but eventually he'd to go looking for something as well. He said he'd pay their rent for the time being though, so that was nice.

"Follow me," The blonde man ordered, walking through a door where the stairwell was.

The three followed him up the stairs and walked with him through the door to the apartment. After everyone was inside, he closed the door behind him and walked past them.

"Andrea! They're here!" He called, fixing the cuffs on his button down shirt.

A moment later a dark haired man came out of a bedroom presumably, looking anything but pleased. He walked over to them and held out his hand, shaking everyone else's, "Hello, I'm Andrea. Pleased to meet you."

"Hi, I'm Eric, and these are my friend's Jackie and Ayrton," Eric introduced as he released the accented man's hand.

"Pleased to meet you all," Andrea said, still frowning though, "Follow me."

He turned and led the three through the apartment as the blonde man disappeared into another room. A moment later they were in the living room, which was actually decent sized. The walls were painted orange, although the paint was chipped in sections, and there was several pieces of art hanging on the walls. There was a couch that matched the walls and a lounge chair that was a sort of sea foam color, and on the other side of the couch was an oak whicker char with a yellow cushion in it. There was a rug on that covered a good majority of the floor in front of the TV that was the same color as the lounge chair.

Andrea led them into another room that was connected to the living room and in this room the walls were a dark blue color and there were several couches in here and some more art on the walls. This must be a little relaxing type of area, there wasn't really much to this room.

Then there was the kitchen. It was small, the walls had an ugly pea green color on them, the paint, like the res the house's, was chipped in areas. There was a tiny table that sat four people in the middle of the room. There was a toaster and a microwave and a small refrigerator, and there was clock above the fridge.

The bathroom was tiny, you could barely move around in the there. There were four rooms though. One was decent sized, the walls were the same shade as the living room, there was a full sized bed, a desk, and a wardrobe. And there was plenty of room for other things if you wanted anything else. Another room was smaller, the walls were green and it held a full sized bed, a dresser, and a wall mirror. The other room was the blonde haired man's and then the other was Andrea's.

After the tour of the apartment was over, the three followed Andrea back out into the living room. He turned to look at them and clasped his hands together, "So, what did you think?"

Eric nodded, looking around the living room, his lips pursed, "It's nice. I like it."

"So… Are you going to want to live here? Yes? No?" Andrea asked, his shoulders tense.

"Yeah, that'd be great," Eric responded, not even going over it with Jackie and Ayrton, although Ayrton did seem to like it, "When can we move in?"

Andrea shrugged, "Anytime is fine. Today even, if you would like."

"Great," Eric smiled, reaching into his back pocket, "We'll go get packed and start getting everything moved in. I've got first month's rent, so… Here ye' go."

Eric slapped three hundred dollars in cash into Andrea's hand, which surprised the dark haired man, "Wow…"

"It was nice meeting you, Mister…" Eric trailed off, never catching his last name.

"Venturi," Andrea finished, shaking Eric's hand, "But you can just call me Andrea."

"Alright," Eric smiled in a friendly way, finally earning a small smile from the other man.

Andrea was odd, seemingly a bit unfriendly. He was a couple of inches shorter than Eric and skinny, his dark, shaggy curly hair complimenting his pale skin. He had an accent, presumably Italian, but it was easy to understand him.

"Oh, and the other man who lives here, that's David," Andrea said, finally putting a name tag on the blonde haired man.

Just as he said that, the man they were speaking off came out of his room, a tie now around his neck, "Have you seen my bag, Andrea?"

"No," Andrea said, looking back at David, "Did you leave it downstairs?"

"Maybe…" David shrugged, then he looked over at the three standing in the center of the living room, "So are you guys staying or leaving?"

"We're staying," Eric answered, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Well then I should probably introduce myself," David said, stepping over to them and shaking all of their hands, "I'm David Hayden, nice to meet you all."

David was similarly skinny to Andrea, but shorter, he was probably only an inch taller than Jackie. He had a slight New York accent, but you could only really hear it if he was antsy, as he was right now.

"Sorry, I'll try to talk to you all later, I've got to go. I don't want to be late," He said, looking down at his watch, "I'll see ye' later, Andrea."

David gently pat his roommate on the back, making Andrea flinch a little, as he turned to leave, cursing to himself as he left the apartment.

Everyone was quiet for a moment before a smiling Eric Forman said, "He seems nice."

"When he wants to be," Andrea said, "He can be a pain in my ass."

"Hey look at that, Eric can be a pain in mine," Jackie replied, smiling smugly.

Andrea smiled a little before he said, "Well, you three should get going so you can pack. I'll be here all day, so… You can come back at any time."

"Alright, thanks man," Eric said, shaking Andrea's hand one last time.

"No problem," He replied, forcing a smile.

"We'll be back between three and four, how's that sound?" Eric asked.

"Sounds fine," Andrea said, releasing Eric's hand, "I'll see you later."

"Alright, see ye'," Eric said, walking towards the door, his friends following.

The three closed the door to the apartment behind them and went down the stairs. After they left the bar downstairs and were back outside, Jackie grabbed Eric's arm and pulled him back, "Eric, what the hell?"

Eric furrowed his brow and looked down at the annoyed woman, "What did I do?"

"We could have at least talked about this first," Jackie said, glaring at him, "We don't just jump into things like this."

"Why not?" Eric asked, scrunching his shoulders, "It's a nice place for the price of it. I liked it."

"So did I," Ayrton smiled, butting into their argument.

"Yeah, and Andrea and David seem pretty cool," Eric said, "I don't see what the big deal is."

"I don't know," Jackie said, crossing her arms, "Andrea seems like a little bit of a dick."

Eric raised one eyebrow, "No he doesn't. He's probably just shy or something."

"He did seem kind of shy," Ayrton said, leaning against the hood of Eric's car, crossing his arms.

"Either way, we still needed to discuss this," Jackie defended, her hard gaze still on Eric.

"Jackie, name another place in this city with a cheap price with that much space," Eric challenged, "You're not going to find anything."

"But—" Jackie tried, but Eric cut her off.

"Jackie, trust me," Eric started, "I know what I'm getting us into, it'll all be perfectly fine. Who knows, maybe those guys will be the best friends you'll ever have."

Jackie rolled her eyes as Eric turned and opened the door to his car, getting in. Ayrton went around to the back and got in as well as Jackie continued to stand on the sidewalk, her arms still crossed.

"You coming or what?" Eric asked, smiling sweetly at her.

Jackie couldn't help but smile back, his smile was contagious, "I hate you."

Eric smiled as Jackie went around and got in the passenger seat, "I know."


	8. Chapter 8

A/N – This is the most I've ever updated a story in a short period of time. I'm liking this creativity flow right now. Thanks to AmbientSpaceNoise for the review, I'm glad you like longer chapters, because this one's over 5,000 words long. But, I'm sorry to inform you readers that the happy trail we've been on has a bit of a slump in this chapter, because things get a bit depressing and you might hate me for what happens. Also, I don't know if there will be a lot of Donna drama in this fic because I don't really know where I could fit it in and I don't want to force it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and thanks a lot for reading and reviewing. It means a lot.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

January 1, 1985

Eric woke up on the couch the morning of New Year's Day. He was on his back, his arm and leg hanging off the side and laying on the floor. He had a headache. He doesn't usually have a hangover, he's usually pretty good when it comes to partying, he must've drank a bit more than usual last night.

He heard something clanking and plastic crinkling and he opened his eyes and panicked for a second. He reached up to feel his face and sighed with relief. Sunglasses were still on. Thank God.

Eric groaned when he turned and put a hand to his head. Jeez, what did he drink last night? He felt nauseous. He finally sat up after about thirty seconds of struggling and looked over to see what the noise was. He saw Jackie picking up empty beer bottles, plastic plates, and other pieces of trash lying around and putting them in a trash bag. A trash bag that was nearly full.

"G'mornin'," Eric's words sloshed together as he ran a hand through his already messy hair.

Jackie looked up, looking hungover herself, "Good morning."

Eric stretched his arms over his head and groaned sleepily before he relaxed his body, "I don't remember a damn thing that happened last night."

"I wish I couldn't," Jackie said, rubbing her head, "Andrea smoked that weed you had and he freaked out."

Eric thought for a minute, but couldn't remember anything about it, "How the hell did I talk him into smoking a joint?"

Jackie shrugged and picked up a dirty napkin from underneath the bedside table, "I don't know, but he panicked. I tried calming him down, but he locked himself in the bathroom and wouldn't come out."

Eric looked around for anyone, but it was only him and Jackie, "Where is he now?"

"He's still in there," Jackie said, "He must've come down from his high and passed out. I haven't tried going in there yet."

"Where's everyone else?" Eric asked, concerned about the odd silence.

"Ayrton's still sleeping," Jackie said, shrugging her shoulders, "And David locked his bedroom door last night, I think there might be a girl in there."

Just as she said that, a woman's voice called loudly as she walked out into the living room, "Don't tell anyone about this!"

Eric and Jackie both turned to see a short, brown haired woman putting on her shoe as she yelled at a shirtless David who followed her out, "It's not a big deal! It was one night!"

"I have a reputation to keep!" The girl cried as she fastened her shoe.

"And what reputation is that?" David asked in an annoyed way.

"I don't do one night stands," The woman snapped, putting on her other shoe.

"I don't see what the big deal is!" David cried.

Eric and Jackie shared a look, but they held very different expressions. Jackie looked surprised, Eric looked amused. Of course he was, he lived for drama, as long as said drama didn't involve him.

"I'm the kind of girl who develops a connection with someone before I sleep with them," The girl snapped.

"We're friends, I see you every day! Even outside of work! You've invited me over before!" David defended.

"A romantic relationship, David!" The woman said, throwing her hands up, "I date before this kind of stuff happens… I don't even sleep with guys like you in the first place!"

David seemed hurt by this, his expression changed from concerned, to hurt, to angry in a matter of seconds, "Guys like me?"

The woman now looked concerned now, regretful even, "That's not what I meant, I—"

"Whatever, I don't deserve this," David said, grabbing a discarded t-shirt lying on the couch and throwing it on. It wasn't his and it was much too large, but he wore it anyway as he turned to go to the door.

"David, wait!" But it was too late, the door slammed.

Eric and Jackie both flinched at the sound as they watched the scene unfold. The woman stood there for a moment before she realized she had an audience. She turned to look at the two behind her and she looked sheepish now as she stuttered over her words, "I-I should go after him. I-I—I'll get out of your way."

Then she followed after David.

"Poor David," Jackie said, a saddened look on her face.

"The guy can never catch a break," Eric said, "That's that Maya girl he's always going on about isn't it?"

Jackie nodded, "I think so. They were both drinking pretty hard last night."

"I guess one thing led to another…" Eric said shrugging as he stood, "I'll get that, you go find Andy, make sure he's alright."

Jackie nodded and handed the garbage bag to Eric before she left the room to go find the bathroom. She walked around the corner into the other room and approached the bathroom door before stopping in front of it, knocking on it gently, "Andrea? Are you still in there?" It was quiet, so she knocked again, "Andrea? Are you okay?"

It was quiet for another minute, but this time she heard the door unlock and then a moment later the door opened and revealed Andrea with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, "I cannot find my clothes."

Jackie stifled a laugh and tried keeping a straight face. The situation held more hilarity than it should have because this was the last situation you would see Andrea in. He was usually mature and a bit shy, but he held a bit of a temper.

"They're not in there?" Jackie asked.

Andrea ran a hand through his unusually unkempt hair, "No."

"Where did you take them off?" Jackie asked, a small smirk playing at her lips.

"If I knew that I would not be standing here naked, now would I?" Andrea asked, and Jackie scoffed, making Andrea glare at her, "Do not laugh at me, this is not funny."

"It's a little funny," Jackie said, finally letting herself smile.

"Can you go and get me some clothes?" He asked, but not so nicely, but he did add, "Please."

Jackie nodded, "Yeah, wait right here."

She walked back out into the lounge room and walked to Andy's room, going to his closet and just grabbing whatever she first saw, which ended up being a blue sweater and khaki pants. She grabbed some other garments before she made her way back to the bathroom and handed her roommate his clothes.

"Thank you," He said, quickly taking the clothes from her hands.

"No problem," She smiled, "Need anything else?"

"No," He replied irritably, before shaking his head and scrunching up his face in disgust, "I feel dirty, I need to shower."

Then he stepped back and shut the door in Jackie's face, but she laughed at what he said before she turned and went back into the living room to find Eric still cleaning up.

"Did you get him to come out?" Eric asked as he continued picking up the apartment.

"Yeah, I don't think he had a good night," Jackie smiled as she started helping Eric.

"Yeah, I don't really see Andy as the partying type," Eric shrugged.

"Somebody talked him into smoking though," Jackie said, shaking her head in total disbelief, "I still want to know how that happened."

"Somebody must have got a few drinks in him first," Eric presumed, "He likes vodka, so… It only takes a little bit of that to loosen you up."

Jackie nodded in agreement and continued helping with the massive cleanup. They did this for about half an hour before they got most of it picked up and Eric set the garbage bag down by the door, brushing his hands off.

"Well, I think it's time for a shower and a nap," Eric said, scratching the back of his head.

Jackie looked up at the clock on the wall and her eyebrows shot up to her hairline, "We slept that late?!"

Eric turned to look at the clock and saw it read 12:00 p.m. He shrugged, "I guess so. Why?"

"I've got to be at work by one!" Jackie cried, rushing around now.

"You've got to go in today?" Eric questioned, "It's a holiday!"

"A lot of people work on New Year's, Eric," Jackie informed him, "Shit. I've got to go get ready."

Jackie rushed out of the room to go and get her clothes so she could get to work, leaving the boys at home to nurse headaches all day.

0-0-0-0-0

Jackie got home at nearly six that evening. Eric was playing a card game with Ayrton at the table in the kitchen as Andrea washed dishes and David sat on the couch, watching TV, seeming depressed.

Jackie walked past him first, hanging her coat on the coat rack by the door, "Hey David."

"Hey," David grunted, not even looking up at her, his head rested in the palm of his hand as he blankly stared at the TV.

"How're you feeling?" Jackie asked, already knowing how he was going to respond.

"Like I'm dead inside," He replied.

Jackie nodded and released a sigh through her nose, patting him on the knee as she passed, "Maybe she'll come around."

"I don't want her to. I never want to see her again," David snapped, his voice low.

"Well… I'm sorry it didn't work out the way you wanted it to," Jackie offered her comfort to the saddened man.

David let his arm fall down to his side as he suddenly slumped into the couch, his face landing in the pillow as his now muffled voice said, "Kill me now."

Jackie shook her head before she left the man to mope in the living room. She entered the kitchen and saw the boys goofing around, well, except for Andrea, who was now drying his hands.

"Hey boys," Jackie said, setting her purse down in an empty chair.

"Jackie, you're home!" Eric smiled, "How was work?"

Jackie shrugged, "Slow. Everybody must be nursing hangovers. I wish I could've done that."

"You could've called in sick," Eric suggested, looking down at the cards in his hand.

"My boss would've known I was just hungover and made me come in anyway," Jackie said, sitting down next to Eric, "It's over now anyway, I'm home."

"I will raise you two," Ayrton suddenly said, pushing two poker chips to the middle of the table.

Eric smiled and met his challenge, "Alright."

After a moment, they finally revealed their cards, "Two pairs!" Ayrton cried, as if he knew he had Eric cornered.

But he thought wrong, "Ha! Straight flush! I win!"

"Dammit!" Ayrton slammed his fist onto the table as Eric took the poker chips from the middle of the table and slid them over to himself.

Andrea suddenly came to sit down with them, carelessly tossing Jackie's purse out of his chair, earning a glare from the woman as he sat down, but he didn't seem to notice, "I have to tell you guys something."

"That Jackie saw your ass this morning? Yeah, she told me," Eric said carelessly, looking through his new hand.

Andrea's face turned the shade of a tomato and he glared at Eric, "No, that's not it!"

"Oh… Well, go on," Eric said.

"Tomorrow morning a woman is coming over to have a tour of the apartment," Andrea said, "We might have a few new roommates."

"A few?" Jackie asked, furrowing her brow.

"Yes, she told me she has children," Andrea said.

"Andrea, we have four bedrooms, but they're all taken up, we don't have room for that many people," Jackie said, as if he didn't know that.

"We have two pull out couches that will hold at least two people," Andrea reminded her, "There is room."

"Why do we need more roommates?" Jackie asked.

"I'm struggling to pay the fee to live here as it is," Andrea said, "You, me and David are the only ones with jobs, but our salaries are barely enough combined to afford it here."

"How much is this place?" Jackie asked. She's never wondered about it, curiously.

"One thousand dollars a month," Andrea said.

It made sense, this place was large for an apartment, but he had a business he ran underneath it, so he probably had to pay a little extra for that.

"I'm waiting for a call back on my interview," Eric said, arranging his hand, "I should hear back by the weekend."

"She told me her kids were well behaved, and if they caused any issues then she would leave," Andrea explained, "It'll all be fine, I've got this under control."

"I'll help out with the little rascals," Eric said, "Kids love me, I can calm them down when the time calls for it."

"They like you because you act like a ten year old with ADHD," Ayrton said, making Jackie snicker.

"Shut up," Eric smiled as the phone rang.

"I got it," Andrea said as he stood and went over to pick up the phone, "Hello?"

It was quiet for a moment as the boys continued playing poker, Eric winning another hand. He was really crushing it now.

Andrea suddenly tapped Eric on the shoulder, "It's your mother."

Eric smiled and took the phone from Andrea, "Hey ma, how's it hanging?"

"Eric, now is not the time for joking," Kitty replied, her voice quiet and a bit strained.

Eric suddenly frowned and furrowed his brow, "Mom? Are you okay?"

"Eric…" She stopped for a moment and sniffled, "It's your father—"

"Dad? Is he alright?" Eric asked, raising his voice as he sat up in his chair, setting his cards down.

Everyone at the table looked at Eric with concern, everybody a little tense now as Kitty replied, "He's uh, he's had a heart attack and—"

"What? Is he going to be okay?" Eric asked, his free hand gripping the side of the table so hard his knuckles were white.

It was quiet on the other line for a moment before Kitty said, "Eric, he's… He... I'm so sorry, baby, he's gone."

Eric's whole world shattered right then and there. He couldn't hear anything, it was all white noise. He didn't know how to handle this, he felt himself start to tremble and he didn't even notice the phone slip out of his hand and hit the floor until he saw Ayrton reach down and pick it up.

The boy held it up to his ear, "I am sorry, Mrs. Forman, he will call you back in a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay," She replied and then Ayrton hung up the phone, everybody's eyes focused on Eric.

"Eric?" Jackie said, standing and walking over to stand in front of him, "What's happened?"

Eric didn't speak, he didn't even hear Jackie say anything. Jackie looked over her shoulder at Ayrton and Andrea, who both looked concerned, but didn't know how to handle this.

"Eric?" Jackie reached out her hand and rested it on his shoulder, making him flinch and finally look up at her.

His expression was blank, as if he were in shock, and he was frighteningly pale. Jackie just wanted to know what had happened, whatever had happened, Eric was not handling it well.

Eric shook his head, looking down at the tile floor, "He's… He's… I can't believe it…"

"Can't believe what, Eric?" Jackie asked, her hand still on his shoulder, offering comfort.

Eric shook his head again before he looked up at Jackie, "He's gone. My dad's gone."

Jackie felt her heart stop. Red was gone? No. He was perfectly fine when they saw him at Thanksgiving. That wasn't even two months ago. How had this happened? There's no way. Jackie was snapped out of her thoughts when Eric stood. Jackie took a few steps back to give him room, but he just stood there for a minute, his foot tapping, as if he didn't know what to do with himself.

"I-I've got to go get some fresh air," Eric said, pushing past Jackie and his other friends into the living room.

The three in the room all shared a glance and went to follow after him, but stopped in the doorway, deciding it may be best if Eric had a little time alone. Eric passed by David on the couch in a rush, even garnering the already depressed man's attention.

"Eric, you okay?" He asked, sitting up, a look of concern in his blue eyes.

Eric nodded as he went for the front door, "I'm fine. I'm just going out. I'll be back by midnight."

"What happened?" David asked, but he got no answer from Eric, because he had already left and slammed the door behind him.

0-0-0-0-0

January 5, 1985

The funeral was four days later, and everyone had come. Michael and his family were there, Steven and his girlfriend were there, Fez, his wife, and newborn son Steven were there, and Donna had showed up as well. Some of Kitty and Red's old friends had come to pay their respects. Jackie was still trying to take it all in, she had no idea how Kitty, Laurie, and Eric were taking all of this.

The funeral was over now and they had come back to the Forman household. Ayrton had decided to stay behind, as he's never met Kitty and said he'd like to meet her under different circumstances, which was completely understandable.

Jackie had been looking for Eric, but hadn't been able to find him. So she decided she'd have to go ask Kitty where he was. She found the woman in the kitchen, putting together some food for the guests. Kitty always cooked or cleaned when she was upset, it was distraction from what was upsetting her.

"Mrs. Forman?" Jackie said as she stepped into the kitchen, "Have you seen Eric?"

Kitty looked over at Jackie briefly before she answered her, "He's upstairs in his room. He won't let me talk to him, maybe you'll have some luck… Poor thing."

Jackie frowned and looked down at what Kitty was doing, "Do you need some help?"

Kitty shook her head, "No sweetheart, I've got this. You go and find Eric, he needs somebody to talk to. He's barely said anything since it happened."

Jackie nodded, "Okay, but if you need anything, I'm always there, okay?"

Kitty nodded and smiled up at the girl, "I know, dear."

0-0-0-0-0

"Eric," Jackie knocked on his door gently, hoping to get a response out of him, "Can I come in? I just want to talk."

It was quiet, and for a moment Jackie didn't think he'd open the door, but he surprised her. The door unlocked and opened a moment later, revealing Eric, who wasn't crying, he just looked sad, but he was trying to hide it.

"Come in," He said, stepping out of her way so she could come in.

His room hasn't changed a bit since he was a teenager. Everything was still in its place. The GI Joe's, the comic books, the Lego's, everything. Even his Spiderman bedsheets were still on his bed. Jackie smiled a little at this, a little surprised Red never talked Kitty into making this room into something else. But no, it was all still the same. Of course Kitty would never change it.

"How are you doing?" Jackie asked as Eric stood by the door.

He just shrugged, pursing his lips, "I'm fine."

He forced a smile, making Jackie give him a look. He always did this. Every time something happened, he hid his emotions like this. Why were men all like this?

"Eric, your dad died," Jackie said, and she saw Eric's face twitch at that as she approached him, "You don't have to hide with me. I'm here for you."

Eric nodded, "I know. I'm fine, Jackie."

Jackie sighed quietly and nodded, deciding she wouldn't get anything out of him right now, "Alright."

Eric looked around his room, smiling at it, "I'm surprised they haven't changed anything. I thought my dad would've wanted to turn this into a man cave or something."

Jackie smiled and nodded in agreement, "I was just thinking the same thing."

"Apparently my mom put up a pretty strong argument to keep this the way it is," Eric said, looking around, "Even my old Lego sets are still together. I built that when I was thirteen."

Jackie looked to where he was pointing and saw a Lego space shuttle sitting on top of his old dresser. That's been together for more than ten years? Jeez…

"My dad tried getting me away from playing with all these kid toys, but it never worked," Eric smiled, "He finally accepted I was just a weird kid and he let me do my own thing."

"I thought GI Joe's weren't toys?" Jackie smiled smugly, crossing her arms.

"Shut up," Eric smiled back, going to sit on the foot of his bed. Eric sighed and looked up at Jackie, "Do you ever wish you could just turn back time and go back to when you were a kid?"

Jackie nodded and sat down next to Eric, "All the time."

"Things were so much simpler back then," Eric said, "The biggest thing we had to worry about was getting in trouble because we accidently broke a lawn ornament. Now it's all about money, and trying to get a job, and being able to afford rent and food, and all that. Sometimes I hate being twenty-four."

"You're telling me," Jackie said, relaxing into Eric's bed, "But at least you've still got your mom. I haven't spoken to either of my parents in a year. I get a postcard every once in a while from my mom, but other than that… Nothing."

Eric looked down at his feet and finally frowned, "I just wish I still had my dad, too."

Jackie looked over at Eric, her expression turning to a sad, concerned one. He was finally putting his guard down.

"It's going to be weird not having him around," Eric said, his voice shaking now, "I won't ever see his face again except in pictures, I won't ever hear him threatening to put his foot up my ass again."

Jackie smiled a little at that, but listened to what he had to say.

"We won't ever have those little moments again. The ones where he told me he was proud of me," Eric said, sniffling, "He's only said those words a few times in my life, and I was hoping whenever I got that steady teaching job I hear them again. But… I guess that'll never happen now."

"Eric?" Jackie finally spoke, noticing Eric start to tremble a little now.

"God! He spent twenty-four years of his life yelling at me, why does it hurt so much?" Eric asked, the tears finally rolling.

"Because he was your dad," Jackie said, putting a soothing hand on his back, "And you're always going to remember those little moments together."

Eric didn't say anything else, he took off his sunglasses, but he immediately covered his eyes with his hands as he started crying. Jackie pat his back as he sobbed and eventually Eric wrapped his arms around her and hid his face in her shoulder as he cried. Jackie was taken aback by this at first, but she quickly relaxed into his embrace.

He needed her right now, so she held him and let him cry for the longest time.

0-0-0-0-0

January 7, 1985

Two days later, the duo decided they would head back to New York. They've been here nearly and week and needed to get back to work. Kitty was standing on the porch, watching them as they put their bags in the trunk of Eric's car, her hands folded at her waist, her eyes holding nothing but sadness.

Eric closed the trunk after everything was in there and he and Jackie turned to his mother, who was trying to hold back tears. Eric frowned and stepped over to his mother, "Mom, everything's going to be okay, I promise."

Kitty wrapped her arms around her son tightly, tears falling from her eyes, "It's so quiet around here now. I don't know what to do!"

"Mom, you don't have to stay here," Eric said, "This place is a little big for you all by yourself."

Kitty shook her head and pulled away from Eric, looking up into his eyes, "I raised you kids in this house, I am not moving."

Eric nodded. He figured she'd say something like that, "I know. It was worth a shot."

After Kitty hugged her son again, Jackie stepped over to say goodbye as well. After Eric had stepped back Jackie wrapped her arms around Kitty, hugging her tight, "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Forman."

Kitty nodded into Jackie's shoulder, "I'll be okay. You two don't worry about me. I'll be just fine."

Jackie pulled away from Kitty and looked into her eyes, her own hazel colored ones sad, "Eric will call you when we get home."

Kitty nodded, "Okay, you two drive safe."

"We will," Eric assured her, leaning against the side of his car.

"I'll miss you two," Kitty said, forcing a smile, "Come and visit more often, it's weird not having all you kids around anymore."

Eric smiled, "I'll come back for Easter, how's that sound?"

Kitty smiled, "That sounds great."

"Alright," Eric said, pushing off of his car, "I'll call you when we get there. I love you, mom."

"I love you, too, sweetheart," Kitty smiled.

They all shared one last hug before Kitty made her way back inside. She had to get everything cleaned up from over the weekend, but more importantly, she needed to keep herself busy.

After the backdoor was slid shut and Kitty disappeared into the living room, Jackie turned to Eric and smiled softly, "You ready?"

Eric nodded, "Yeah… Let's go."

Eric walked around to the driver's side of the car and opened the door, Jackie doing the same on the passenger side, but they were both cut off by a certain red head who called out to them as she walked up the driveway.

"You guys aren't leaving without saying goodbye, are you?" Donna asked, a small smile on her face as she approached the two.

Eric smiled back and closed his door, walking around to give Donna a hug, "Sorry, my head's a little mixed up right now."

"That's understandable," Donna said into his shoulder before he pulled away.

"We'll have to catch up when I come for Easter," Eric said.

"Yeah, okay," Donna smiled, turning to look at Jackie, "I need to talk to Jackie about something. A little girl talk?"

Eric nodded and pursed his lips, "Say no more. I'll just… Heat up the car."

Donna smiled and watched as Eric went around and got in his car, turning it on and messing with the heater. Donna turned to Jackie and grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the car and down the driveway a little bit.

"Is something wrong?" Jackie asked, a little curious about what Donna wanted to talk about.

"No, I'm just curious about some things," Donna said, crossing her arms over her chest, "Mrs. Forman told me you and Eric were living together."

It took Jackie a moment to respond, "Uh… Yeah, but we have a few roommates. Ayrton, Andrea, and David. It's a bit crowded, but we make it work."

"How big is this apartment?" Donna asked, seeming a bit annoyed about something, "Is there enough room for everybody? Enough beds?"

"Yeah…" Jackie furrowed her brow and gave Donna a knowing look, "Are you… Are you jealous?"

"Jealous? Jealous about what?" Donna tried, but she seemed panicky.

"You are!" Jackie smiled, a little too amused by this, "You're jealous of me and Eric!"

"Jackie, shut up!" Donna said, trying to shush her, not wanting Eric to hear.

Jackie kept that smile on her face though, "Donna, nothing is going on between me and Eric, I can assure you of that. We're just friends, that's all."

Donna nodded, crossing her arms again. Something was different about Jackie, there was something in her eyes telling Donna a different story, "You're not lying to me, are you?"

Jackie furrowed her brow and frowned, shaking her head, "No Donna, I'm not. Me and Eric are just friends, trust me."

Donna wasn't buying it, "But you have feeling for him don't you?"

Jackie was quiet for a moment, making Donna believe what she had just said was absolutely true.

"You do!" Donna cried, pointing an accusing finger at Jackie, "I can't believe it."

"Donna, calm down," Jackie was trying to shush her now.

"You and Eric? I never thought I'd see the day," Donna said, trying to fight a smile.

"Fine. Maybe there's something there," Jackie said, slumping her shoulders, a little nervous about Donna's reaction, "You're not mad at me, are you?"

"Mad at you?" Donna questioned, then she shook her head, "Jackie, I still have feelings for Eric, believe me, I do. We were together for the longest time, but… We're completely different people now, there's no way we would work out, trust me, we've tried. I'm always on the move and Eric… Eric's relaxed. Too relaxed."

Jackie scoffed, "Yeah, tell me about it."

"It hurts me to say it, but… If you like him, go for it," Donna encouraged, "In many ways, you two are perfect for each other."

"So I've been told," Jackie said, thinking back to her conversation with Steven at the bowling alley a couple of months ago.

"Just… Call me, keep me informed," Donna said, patting Jackie on the arm, "Call me when you get back. Tell me how he's doing… He's trying to put up a tough front, but I can tell he's hurting."

"I will," Jackie said, offering a friendly smile.

"If I can give you a little advice," Donna said, stepping a little closer to her best friend, "Eric tries to be tough, he learned it from his dad. He's very fragile, that's why he's still hiding behind those glasses."

Jackie nodded, "He doesn't ever take them off. Has he taken them off around you before?"

Donna nodded, "Yeah, he takes them off if he comes here alone and there's not a huge crowd. But since you came back into everyone's lives, he's put them back on. He's just nervous, that's all."

"He doesn't have to be," Jackie said, hugging herself for warmth.

"Deep down he knows that," Donna said, "Eventually he'll warm up to you and be himself again. Well, at least completely himself."

Jackie smiled and nodded, "Alright, I'm letting him take it as slow as he wants."

Donna nodded, "He's getting there, maybe it won't be too much longer."

"I hope not," Jackie said, looking back at the car where Eric sat.

He doesn't need to hide like he does. Jackie doesn't know how bad his eye looked, maybe it was worse than she thought. Either way, she didn't care. She just wants him to be himself and be happy. Maybe she could get him there, it would just take a little time.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N – Guten Tag, and welcome back to the ninth chapter of my story. Thanks to TieDyeJackson for the review. I'm glad you like the OC's, I'm always nervous when it comes to writing them because I'm afraid people won't like them. There's some big Jeric coming up soon, not so much in this chapter, but probably in the next couple of chapters. Thanks for reviewing.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

They got back to New York late around nine that night. They were both expecting the new woman and her children to be at the apartment, as Andrea had called them while they were gone and told them she had liked the apartment and would move in over the weekend. They don't know anything about her other than she's a little weird according to Andrea, he never mentioned how many kids she had.

Hopefully not too many to handle. Hopefully the kids were good kids.

Eric parked his car a few feet ahead of Andrea's on the side of the road in front of his bar, taking the key out of the ignition and sitting there for a minute. Jackie turned to look at him from the passenger seat as she took off her seatbelt, "Eric? You okay?"

He nodded after a moment, "Yeah. I'm fine," Then he forced a smile and looked at Jackie, "Let's go meet the new roommates."

Eric then swung his car door open and hopped out, Jackie doing the same, but with a lot less enthusiasm. They got their bags out of the car and then went into the bar and up the stairs to their apartment. It was a little late, so depending on how old this new woman's kids were, they might be sleeping.

Eric and Jackie walked into the apartment, closing the door quietly behind them and they saw Ayrton sitting on the couch, watching TV. As soon as he saw them his face lit up with a smile and he jumped up from the couch, "Eric! Jackie!"

Eric and Jackie smiled as they set their bags down, accepting the friendly embrace their friend offered.

"How is your mother?" Ayrton asked after pulling away.

Eric shrugged, "She's doing as best as she can."

"I prayed for you while you were gone," Ayrton informed him, earning a small smile from Eric, who wasn't deeply religious himself.

"Thanks kid," He replied, looking around the quiet apartment, "Andy sleeping?"

Ayrton shook his head, his dark hair falling into his eyes, "No, he is in the kitchen with Tania. She's our new roommate."

Eric nodded in understanding, "What's she like?"

Ayrton shrugged, pursing his lips, "A bit odd, but nice."

"Well, I guess we should go meet her then," Eric said, smiling as he clasped his hands together.

Ayrton then led the two into the small kitchen where Andrea was leaning back against the sink, looking very displeased, but he always looked like that.

"Andy!" Eric cried as he entered the kitchen, gaining the attention of the woman and her three children at the table.

Eric hugged the man, even though he knew Andrea disliked being touched. That was pretty much the only reason he did it though.

"My name is Andrea," He told Eric for the last time, "And you know I dislike being hugged. Get off of me!"

Eric stood back and patted Andrea on the arm before he turned to look at the four at the table, smiling at them, "You must be Tania. Nice to meet you, I'm Eric Forman."

Tania smiled and stood, shaking Eric's hand, "Nice to meet you."

Eric smiled and looked down at her kids, "And who are these little guys?"

"This is Peyton," She pointed to the girl, who looked to be the oldest, "Bruno," The school aged boy, "And Leonardo," The toddler.

Eric smiled and waved at the three, "Nice to meet you all."

The girl smiled, but it looked forced as she turned back to her bowl of cereal. The toddler was eating dry cereal, and he looked up at Eric curiously, and the other boy smiled happily up at Eric, kicking his feet excitedly, "Andrea told me you're a music teacher."

Eric smiled and nodded, "Well, not yet, but…"

"Can you teach me how to play guitar?" The boy asked, sitting up on his knees in his chair.

Eric nodded, smiling gleefully, "Yeah, sure."

Bruno smiled wider, "Awesome!"

Eric smiled at the boy, having made the kid's whole day. The children's mother suddenly approached the table, her hands stuffed in her pockets, "It's getting late, I think it's time to get ready for bed."

"But mom—" Bruno complained, but his mother cut him off.

"No buts, let's go," She ordered, the two older kids suddenly getting out of their chairs as Tania picked up the little one, "Sorry we didn't get to talk."

Eric shrugged, "We'll talk in the morning. Goodnight."

"'Night," She smiled sweetly, taking her kids to bed.

Eric then sat down at the table, leaning back in the seat and releasing a tired sigh, "Oh, what a tiring week it's been."

Jackie sat down across from him, frowning as Ayrton and Andrea joined them. She looked around suddenly, curious about something, "Where's David?"

"He's spending the night at a friend's apartment," Andrea said, looking down at his hands.

"His girlfriend's apartment," Ayrton smiled knowingly.

"Girlfriend?" Jackie questioned, "He's over that Maya girl already?"

Ayrton shook his head, "His girlfriend is that Maya girl."

Jackie suddenly smiled and sat up, "Really?"

Ayrton nodded, "She apologized to him at work and apparently they had a long talk about some things. He took her out on a date tonight, he has been gone since five though and they were only going out for dinner. He must have got lucky."

Eric smiled and nodded, "Way to go, Davie. I'll have a beer for him."

Eric got up and went to the fridge, Jackie watching him as he went. He's been drinking a lot this past week, she'd have to keep an eye on him, make sure it didn't get out of hand.

"Eric," Jackie said, standing suddenly, "It's getting a bit late, maybe we should be heading to bed."

"Together I hope," Eric remarked, smiling charmingly at Jackie.

She blushed and sort of glared at him, crossing her arms, "You're this close to getting smacked."

Eric snickered and looked down at his watch, nodding, "Yeah, I am a bit tired. Maybe you're right."

Eric put the beer in his hand back in the fridge before he stepped back, closed the door, and stretched his arms over his head.

He turned to look at his friends, "I guess I'll see you guys in the morning. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," The two men sitting at the table said in unison.

As the two began to walk away, Ayrton suddenly stood and called out, "Wait!"

Eric and Jackie turned to the teen as he dashed across the tiny kitchen, opening a drawer and rifling through its contents. Eric and Jackie watched him curiously, wondering what he was looking for, then a moment later he pulled out a yellow post it note and stepped over to Eric, handing it to him.

"The middle school called," He informed him, smiling a little, "He said you got the job."

Eric suddenly smiled brightly, "What? Really?"

Ayrton nodded, "Yeah. He said to call this number whenever you got a chance and that you could discuss a date to come in a go over all the paperwork."

Eric sort of hopped like a little girl might at this news, "This is great!"

Jackie smiled at him, happy to see a genuine smile on his face after everything he's been through this week.

"I'll call him tomorrow," Eric said, holding up the post it note, "I'm so excited! How am I going to sleep tonight?"

After this long week, Eric deserved this. This was the best pick me up he's ever received. He couldn't wait to start.

0-0-0-0-0

January 26, 1985

A few weeks later on a Saturday night, Eric, Jackie, Ayrton, and David had all come out for drinks. Since Ayrton was underage until next month, Eric had bought him a beer. They had just sort of wandered into a bar with live entertainment. There was tall, beautiful woman singing her heart out on stage, she kind of reminded Eric of Janis Joplin with the type of voice she had.

Ayrton seemed to be enjoying himself immensely, as if this was the greatest thing he's ever experienced. He was quite entranced by the woman on stage, a big smile on his face as he leaned over a low baring wall to watch her.

David had brought his girlfriend Maya with him, they seemed pretty happy together now. They were so different, but somehow so perfect for each other. She was nice and sophisticated, and he was snarky and a bit childish, but they made it work somehow. They kind of reminded Eric of his relationship with Donna that didn't end as well as theirs had.

Jackie was sitting on the far end of the bench, watching the woman and sneaking a sort of jealous glance at Eric every once in a while. While they were here at the bar, this pretty young woman came over to sit with them and started flirting with Eric. She was sitting very close to him and he had his arm around her shoulders. Jackie didn't like her, she sort of glared at her when she looked over at her, silently announcing her dominance.

The girl sent her a glare back, but Jackie was tougher than her and the girl quickly realized that, but that didn't mean she was leaving Eric's side. She rested her head on his shoulder, sending Jackie a smug smile.

Jackie narrowed her eyes at her, crossing her arms over her chest, but she looked away from the two. If she kept looking at them she'd sock the girl in the face. No one would doubt that. So she watched the vixen of a woman continue to perform her song on stage. Jackie couldn't be sure as they weren't really her type of music, but it sounded like The Beatles.

They watched her until her song ended, everybody in the bar cheering for her, some of the men whistling and the girl smiling at them, winking and thanking them for their kindness. Ayrton was clapping and cheering, leaning over the wall and as the woman passed she ran a hand through his thick hair, and Jackie was pretty sure he almost collapsed from the sheer contact.

Jackie's attention was suddenly shifted though as a finger tapped her shoulder. Jackie turned to see who it was and saw Eric looking at her, "Hey, want to go get some fresh air? It's getting a bit stuffy in here."

Jackie looked over his shoulder at the woman he was previously sitting with and saw the pout on her face. So Jackie smiled and nodded, "Yeah, sure."

The two got up from their seat, leaving David with his girlfriend Maya, and Ayrton, who looked over his shoulder at them, raising a curious eyebrow, "Where are you two going?"

Eric jutted a thumb over his shoulder towards the door, "Out. We'll be back in a minute."

Ayrton nodded, smiling sort of knowingly at Jackie, "Yeah, okay."

The he turned back to the stage, waiting to see if the woman would come back for an encore. Eric led Jackie out of the bar and out onto the street. It was a bit chilly, but kind of comforting after spending the past couple of hours in that stuffy bar with all of those people.

They walked away from the crowd standing outside the bar smoking or chatting with friends and walked down the sidewalk a little ways. They were quiet for a moment before Jackie brought up, "Your girlfriend didn't look too happy to see you leave."

Eric shook his head, a small smile on his face, "She's not my girlfriend. She's not even my type."

Jackie smiled a little, "What is your type?"

Eric stuffed his hands in his pockets as he walked alongside Jackie, shrugging his frail shoulders, "I don't know. Nice girls. One's that don't start feeling me up after just meeting me."

Jackie chuckled and looked down at her feet. Their lives had kind of improved within the last couple of weeks. Jackie quit her job waitressing and started looking for something that would actually spark her interest and she applied for a small newspaper. She had an interview Monday morning, which she was nervous, but also excited for. Eric had started his new job nearly three weeks ago, and he absolutely loved it. He taught at a lower class school, but he says the kids are sweet and love him to death. It was only a few blocks away from where they lived and their roommates Tania's oldest kid Peyton went there as an eighth grader.

Peyton, Bruno, and Leo loved Eric, and Jackie too. Their mother wasn't the most hands on parent and often left her kids at the apartment with everyone else while she went out and partied with friends. Andrea disliked her to an ungodly extent, but he didn't want to kick her out because he needed the money, and even though he doesn't want to admit it, he has a heart and doesn't want those kids to be left alone with her.

Eric and Jackie walked down the street in comfortable silence for only a moment longer before they heard footsteps behind them. They turned to look and see who it was and saw their friends had caught up to them.

"The party over already?" Eric asked, one eyebrow raised.

"We got hungry," David said, shrugging, "There's a burger joint a block away, want to go?"

Eric looked down at Jackie who shrugged, "Sure."

And so they went, down one block and all the way on the corner was a burger place with only three other customers in there. A scruffy looking older man, and an elderly married couple. Eric brought the tray of food out to everyone and they all ate and talked about anything and everything.

Ayton went on and on about the woman performing at the bar, which entertained everyone at how much he fawned over this woman. David and Maya sat next to each other, David's arm slung over the back of Maya's chair as he ate the rest of the French fries as he listened to Ayrton talk.

Eric's mind was elsewhere though, there was something he had to give Jackie, but he should probably just wait until they're away from the crowd. It was kind of a big deal and he didn't want her freaking out in public, but he for some reason still brought it with him.

After they all talked to each other for a little while longer they decided it was time to get home, so they got up and left the burger place and walked back to their apartment, David going to stay over at Maya's place for the night.

They all bid farewell to the lovebirds as they turned down a different street and the three remaining friends made their way home. The bar they went to was only a few blocks away, so it didn't take them long to get back home.

The bar was open and people were inside drinking, but one of Andrea's hardworking employees was running it tonight, which struck the three as odd. Andrea didn't generally let other people do his job or even trust them to watch over anything he owned.

The three headed upstairs, passing through a few drunk men and a woman flirting with the bartender. As soon as they entered the apartment, they were met with the sounds of children crying and Andrea freaking out.

Eric, having developed protective feelings for the children, rushed into the living room where the sound was coming from as soon as he heard it. He came around the corner and saw Andrea pacing back and forth, Bruno and Leo sitting on the couch, both crying, but he didn't see Peyton.

"Andy?" Eric said, his hazel colored eyes searching the room for the missing child, "What's wrong? What happened? Where's Peyton?"

Andrea turned to Eric as Jackie and Ayrton entered the room, Andrea pulling at his thick wavy hair, "It's Andrea!" Andrea corrected, panicking as he squeezed his eyes shut tight, "Tania's gone! She's left!"

"What do you mean she's left?" Eric asked, confusion and anger welling up inside of him.

"I mean she's gone! She left! She left her kids here for us to take care of! I-I don't know what to do! I can't take care of children!" Andrea said, tugging at his hair roughly now, making Jackie step forward, "I'm not a caretaker! I'm just a bar owner! This is awful! Non capisco! Cazzo me, questo e terribile!"

He started speaking in Italian, that usually meant he was going into a panic attack or he was really pissed off. Probably both. Jackie approached Andrea, hopefully she could at least get him to stop pulling at his hair.

"Andrea, calm down," Jackie said, trying to stop him from pacing, "Andrea."

"Calm down?" Andrea laughed in a maniacal way, "Calm down?! I can't calm down! There are three orphans in my home, my bar is being run by a complete idiot, and—and… Is your heart supposed to beat this fast?"

Jackie gently grabbed Andrea's hands, knowing his absolute distaste with being touched, but she had to get him to stop pulling at his hair, "Andrea, you need to sit down."

"I can't feel my legs," Andrea said, sucking in shallow breaths, "I'm shaking… Is that normal?"

His dark eyes were pleading as he scratched at his arms, making Jackie grab his hands quicker this time, "Don't do that. Here, just… Hold my hands, okay? Concentrate on that."

Andrea nodded, trying to catch his breath. He was starting to get dizzy, he felt like he was going to pass out. Jackie looked over at Ayrton, who didn't seem to know what to do.

"Ayrton, could you help out, please?" Jackie pleaded before she looked back to Andrea, who looked tired now, "Shit…"

Andrea suddenly fell limp, falling forward. Jackie caught him underneath the arms, his head falling onto her shoulder. Andrea wasn't a big guy, he was as thin as a pencil, but Jackie wasn't the biggest either, so she struggled holding the limp man up.

Ayrton suddenly came over to her and pulled Andrea off of Jackie, picking him up bridal style and carrying him to the couch. Ayrton was pretty strong for a little guy, it kind of impressed Jackie. She looked over to Eric and told waved her hand towards another room, "Go find Peyton. I've got these guys."

Eric nodded and quickly left the room, going to find the thirteen year old girl. He checked his room, Jackie's room, and even David's room, but he didn't find her, then he remember that Andrea's room was off limits. If she wanted to hide that's probably where she'd be.

Eric passed through the living room again and through the lounge before quietly opened Andrea's bedroom door. He peeked inside and could hear a quiet crying in the dark room. The only source of light in the room was the moonlight peeking through the window.

"Peyton?" Eric said quietly as he stepped into the room a little more, the door creaking slightly.

He heard sniffling and then, "Leave me alone."

Eric sighed quietly and stepped all the way into the room now, closing the door behind him silently. He walked further into the room, but he didn't see the girl, prompting him to furrow his brow and ask, "Where are you?"

A sniff and then, "Down here."

Eric was walking past the bed at this point and heard the voice come from underneath it, so he got down on his hands and knees and looked underneath the bed to see the small girl tucked into herself crying.

"Peyton…" Eric sighed again, frowning, "I don't know what to say."

"There's nothing to say," Peyton said, shaking her head, anger and sadness sharing a spot in her brown eyes, "She left us. I hate her."

Eric shook his head, "No you don't."

"Yes I do," Peyton snapped, wrapping her arms around her knees, "She deserves it."

Eric nodded and relaxed his shoulders, "She probably does."

Peyton looked over to Eric as he laid down on his back on the floor next to the bed, resting his folded hands on his stomach and looking up at the ceiling.

"You don't have to worry though, you know?" Eric said, "We're not going to let anything happen to you."

"I'm not worried," Peyton said, shaking her head, "I'm just mad, because…"

After there was silence for a moment, Eric turned his head to look at the girl and asked, "Because?"

Peyton sighed and screwed her face up in anger, "Because I'm not surprised this happened."

Eric sighed and slumped his shoulders, "You're not alone, you know?"

Peyton scoffed, "I know. I'm like all those kids in those stupid made for TV documentaries."

Eric shook his head and raised a finger, "I know one person who doesn't have one of those."

Peyton furrowed her brow now in curiosity, "Really? Who?"

Eric smiled warmly and looked over at the girl again, "Her name's Jackie Burkhart."

Peyton sort of smiled in a disbelieving way, "No way."

Eric nodded, "Her mom didn't leave her in this way, but she was never really around. Neither was her father. Jackie was alone a lot of the time, she lived with my girlfriend for a long time because she didn't want to live by herself. If you need someone to talk to, and I mean really talk to. Jackie's the perfect person."

Peyton shook her head, "I didn't know that."

Eric shrugged, "We all got our demons. Aryton's got his brother, Andrea's got his crippling social anxiety, and Jackie's got her parents."

"What about you?" Peyton asked after a moment of silence.

"What about me, what?" Eric asked.

"Do you have demons too?" She asked, sort of curious now.

Eric adjusted his shoulders and tilted his head, "Well… Yeah, I do."

"What is it?" Peyton asked curiously.

Eric shook his head, "Well… I'm not really comfortable—"

"Come on! I won't tell anybody," Peyton promised, smiling that pretty smile of hers to try and warm Eric to the idea, "I'm good at keeping secrets."

"I don't know…" Eric said, his hands fidgeting a bit now.

"Is your secret why I've never seen you without your sunglasses?" Peyton asked, and Eric went silent for a moment.

After a solid twenty seconds of silence Eric finally spoke up, turning to lay on his side and look at Peyton, "Okay, but you can't tell anybody."

Peyton smiled and nodded, "I promise I won't."

"Pinkie promise?" Eric asked, holding out his pinkie.

Peyton nodded, holding back a giggle, "Pinkie promise."

"Alright, but you got to come out from underneath there first," Eric said, sitting up now.

Peyton starting crawling out from underneath the bed, going to sit cross legged in front of Eric. After she was situated, Eric looked her in the eye.

"You are the only person in this whole building, in this whole city, who knows about this now," Eric said, actually seeming a bit nervous, "Are you ready?"

Peyton furrowed her brow and tilted her head, "I think I should be asking you that question."

Eric was too nervous to chuckle at that, but he still brought his hands up, his fingers grabbing ahold of the sides of his sunglasses, "Okay, just… Don't make fun of me, okay?"

"I wouldn't dream of it," Peyton said, a little nervous as to what his secret was, but sort of excited at the same time.

"Alright… Here goes nothing…" Eric said, releasing a deep breath as he slowly pulled off his sunglasses and held them in his shaking left hand.

Peyton gasped quietly at what she saw. Eric's right eye was damaged. All around it, it was red with a scar, it looked sort of like a burn. The eye itself was cloudy, the color of it paler than the other one, his eyelid also drooped slightly.

"Oh my gosh…" Peyton said quietly as Eric sat in silence, "What happened?"

Eric shrugged, "Some jerk smacked me across the face with a fire poker."

Peyton gasped again as she examined the wound that would never fully heal, "Does it hurt?"

Eric shook his head, "Not anymore."

Peyton was hesitant, but she extended her hand and touched the scar around his eye with her fingertips, making Eric flinch a bit. Peyton sighed and shook her head, looking Eric in the eyes, "Eric… It doesn't look as bad as you think."

Eric nodded, "Yeah, I know. That's what everybody tells me. I just… I don't want to be looked at as different… I spent my whole childhood being viewed that way."

Peyton furrowed her brow curiously, "What?"

Eric shrugged, "I wasn't exactly a 'normal' kid. I would rather build with Lego's than play baseball. I would rather read a book than watch some dumb action movie all the kids were raving about. I didn't have a lot of friends as a kid, just that small little group that hung out in my basement all the time, and even they told me I was different. This," He pointed at his eye in an almost angry way, "Just adds to the problem."

Peyton shook her head, "Being different isn't a problem."

"It is to me," Eric said, fiddling with his sunglasses and avoiding the girls gaze. Never in his life would he have thought he'd be embarrassed of his appearance in front of a middle schooler.

"Eric, I'm different," Peyton said, "I may not have a badass scar, but… I'm half Brazilian, half Chinese. I have a boy's haircut, a jagged tooth, and I'm smaller than everybody at my school. I'm thirteen years old and I look nine. If none of what I just said makes me different, than I don't know what does."

Eric sort of smiled at that, "Well… You think my scars badass?"

Peyton giggled, "It looks kind of cool. And I'm not saying that to make you feel better. It really does look cool."

Eric shrugged his shoulders again, "I don't know. I think I look ridiculous."

Peyton frowned again, realizing something, "Are you afraid Jackie's not going to treat the same because you look different?"

Eric's silence answered her question.

"Eric," Peyton said, slumping her shoulders, "Jackie's not like that. She's really nice, and understanding. She really cares about you, I don't even know why you would think that."

"Insecurity makes you think up some pretty ridiculous things, kid," Eric answered.

Peyton did have to agree with him, she's thought of some pretty stupid scenarios based on what she was wearing one day, "Well… Jackie's different… Like us."

Eric smiled and decided he'd finally put his sunglasses back on, "She is, isn't she?"

Peyton smiled back at Eric, "We all are."

Eric sighed and shook his head, "This all does kind of seem silly once you say it out loud."

Peyton nodded, "You're telling me… But hey, now I can add orphan to my resume of weirdness."

Eric chuckled when she did, before he nudged her on the shoulder, "We should probably get back out there before Andrea wakes up and finds us in his room."

"Wakes up? What happened to Andrea?" Peyton asked as Eric helped her to her feet.

"He passed out from the stress," Eric responded.

Peyton laughed, "You would have thought his mother left him."

Eric laughed at that and nodded, leading the young girl out of the room, "You're pretty funny, kid… Thanks."

Peyton smiled, knowing why he was thanking her, "No problem."

The two left the room, both of them having helped each other a little bit that night.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N - Thanks to AmbientSpaceNoise and TieDyeJackson for your reviews. I'm sorry it took a little longer for an update, I had a half a chapter written and then my computer crashed and it was deleted, but I think it was sign, because I like the way this one turned out better. This was one's a little more mature than the previous chapter's, and I wrote a smutty scene in this one. It's my first time writing anything like that, so go easy on me. It's not super graphic or anything though, I don't think I'm capable of writing anything like that.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's my favorite one so far.

Disclaimer - Read the first chapter's.

February 1, 1985

Eric got home from work at around four o'clock that afternoon. His new job had been going really well, the kids all really liked him. They always tell him they look forward to his class the most every day, which always makes him smile.

After Eric walked in the door that afternoon, he was met with constant chattering everywhere. He raised an eyebrow as he went into the living room, but the noise seemed to be coming from the tiny kitchen. So Eric went over to the small area and was surprised that everyone had managed to fit in there.

Andrea and Ayrton were sitting at the table, Andrea looking over the paper and Ayrton eating from a bowl of some kind of party mix as he watched the others in the room. David and Jackie were chattering over something, Peyton was trying to get her two cents in, Bruno was tugging on Jackie's shirt sleeve as Jackie herself held a babbling Leo in her arms.

"Hey guys!" Eric had to yell over the loudness of the room and suddenly everybody's attention was him.

Bruno smiled and ran over to Eric, practically jumping onto him, "Eric! You're home!"

The wind was knocked out of Eric when Bruno slammed into his middle, his skinny arms wrapping around him, "Hey buddy."

"Eric, thank God you're home," Jackie said, walking over to him and handing Leo to him, "These kids have been… All over the place today. I need some help."

Eric furrowed his brow as he adjusted Leo on his hip, the two year old now smiling at him, "Andrea's been here all day, hasn't he been helping?"

"I was cleaning up the bar, thank you very much," Andrea snapped, gazing hard at the younger man, "It is a Friday, so it will be crazy tonight."

"Well, what about Ayrton?" Eric asked, looking over to the teenager who still sat at the table.

"I hurt my ankle chasing Bruno around this morning," Ayrton said, shrugging, "I've been down all day."

Eric looked over to Leo and smiled at the boy, "Well, I'm sure I can take it from here."

"Thank you," Jackie said, sighing in relief before she glared at David, "Somebody told me they were going to help out when they got home, but somebody had different plans."

David threw his hands up, "Maya's throwing a party. I have to be there!"

"Really? You have to?" Jackie asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Come on, guys, calm down," Eric eased, "I'm here now, everything's fine. I'll help out. David can go to his party, Andrea can go run his bar, and Ayrton can go rest his leg. It's all good."

Everybody eventually seemed to agree to that statement and went about doing their own thing, but somebody had to watch the kids for just a few minutes, because Eric had something important to give to Jackie and he wasn't quite sure how she would take it.

"Ayrton, can you hold him for a second?" Eric asked, going to hand the toddler to the teen, "I need to talk to Jackie for a second."

Ayrton nodded, taking Leo from Eric and sitting the boy in his lap, "Yeah, sure."

"Thank you," Eric smiled gratefully, "Bruno, Peyton. Just sit down for a minute and don't cause Andrea any problems, okay? I'll be right back."

The two children nodded and shared the chips with Ayrton as Eric grabbed Jackie's hand and dragged her out of the kitchen, Jackie having no idea what was going on.

"Eric, is everything okay?" Jackie asked as Eric dragged her into his room and closed the door behind them.

"Everything's fine," Eric said, going over to his dresser and opening a drawer, rifling through its contents, "There's something I've got to show you."

Jackie furrowed her brow and crossed her arms, "What is it?"

Eric finally pulled an envelope out of the drawer and held it up as he turned around, "This."

Jackie slumped her shoulders and gazed at the envelope for a second, "What's that?"

Eric sighed and looked down at the letter, ignoring Jackie's question, "I was going to this to you the other day, but… You were a little upset about the person who sent this to you."

Jackie thought for a moment, trying to figure who she would've been mad at… Oh, it's her mother, "It's from my mother?"

Eric nodded, "Yeah, I know things have been tough between you two lately and I wasn't sure how you would've handled this at the time so…"

"Did you open it?" Jackie asked, looking at the letter, her gaze hardening.

Eric shook his head, "No… Jackie, if—"

"Let me see it," Jackie suddenly said, holding out her hand.

Eric was quiet for a minute, but he eventually handed the envelope to the annoyed woman. Jackie looked down at the letter, at first thinking this was going to be a postcard from her mother's latest adventure in Brazil or something, but this was different. It didn't feel like a postcard was inside, it was lighter, it felt like it might be a letter.

Jackie quickly opened the envelope, pulling the letter out a moment letter and reading over it. It was only one page and as she read it, Eric noticed that she didn't seem very happy about the contents of the letter.

"Jackie?" Eric tried, taking one gentle step forward, but Jackie threw her arms down, a look of anger on her face.

"She moved back home," Jackie snapped, shaking her head.

Eric seemed confused. Why was she angry about that, "What's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong with that?!" Jackie cried, making Eric flinch, but she continued, "My entire childhood she spent in foreign countries, never wanting to take me with her. Never wanting to stay home and raise me. I lived without a mother most of the time, I lived with your girlfriend for Christ's sake! And now she wants to move back home and she wants me to come live with her!"

Eric was nervous. He didn't know how to approach this. He knew how Jackie was when she got angry, it was hard to calm her down and sometimes, depending on the situation, she seemed to throw other people's feelings out the window. This was a flash of the old Jackie, a flash of the old Jackie that she thought she'd gotten rid of.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Eric asked, but he didn't know the whole story, and he probably never would.

"No, it's not a good thing!" Jackie cried, the letter crinkling in her hand as she clenched her fists, "She wants me to come home now? After all this time of me asking her to come home, begging her to come home and she never once dropped everything to come and see her little girl! She thinks because she asks me to come home that I'll just drop everything and come see her, everything forgiven? I don't think so. I just got a job, I'm living with some amazing people, some great friends, and now I'm helping raise three orphaned children who love me very much. I am not dropping any of that to go and see her."

She got the job? Eric was happy for her, but right now wasn't really the time to bring that up, Jackie was fuming.

Jackie sighed and ran a hand across her face, "I mean, it's easy for you. You're parents are supportive, they never tried dragging you back home. You can go and see them whenever you want, I never had that luxury."

Eric flinched at that as Jackie seemed to forget for that split second that Eric couldn't go see his parents whenever he wanted, she seemed to forget they just went to his father's funeral just weeks ago. And in the other half of that split second, Jackie remembered that and her expression changed.

"Eric, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that," Jackie tried apologizing, and Eric just shrugged.

"That's okay," Eric said, though his voice was a little strained, "You were saying?"

What Jackie said wasn't actually all that bad, but Eric still hadn't fully recovered from his father's death, and he never would, but because it was so recent, it was harder to talk about, even just to mention. Every time somebody mentioned his father he always remembered that he'd never see him again.

Eric didn't want to make this about him though, this was for Jackie to be upset about. She was allowed to be upset. Eric would deal with himself later.

Jackie sighed again and dropped her head, "I wish I had normal parents."

Eric nodded, "I know."

"Should I write her back?" Jackie asked, looking up at Eric.

Eric shrugged, smiling a little, "Do you want to tell her how you really feel?"

Jackie nodded, "Badly."

Eric then nodded, "Then yeah, you should write her back."

Jackie then smiled at Eric, appreciating that she had such a great and understanding friend like him.

0-0-0-0-0

Later that night at around 11 o'clock, everything in the apartment was quiet. Andrea was downstairs working, David was at his girlfriend's party, Ayrton was sleeping on the pull out couch, and the kids were now all sleeping.

Eric was in his room, writing something down in his notebook when Jackie walked by, stopping in his doorway and leaning against the wall, "The kids are finally in bed."

Eric smiled at Jackie, "It's about time… Remind me to never give Bruno more than one jolly rancher."

"Or just don't give him the whole bag," Jackie smiled, "I'm surprised he didn't get sick."

Eric shrugged and looked back down at his notepad as Jackie stepped into his room, curiously watching him.

"What're writing?" Jackie asked curiously, her arms crossed over her chest.

"A song," Eric replied nonchalantly.

"A song?" Jackie asked, a little impressed.

"Well, more like a composition," Eric said, shrugging, "It's for the piano. A sort of love song if you will."

Jackie smiled and looked down at the notepad. It was sheet music, so she didn't really understand it too well, "You'll have to play it for me sometime."

Eric smiled sweetly, "I will."

Eric and Jackie haven't really talked all that much since the funeral. Since they got back, Eric's sort of shut down and he refuses to talk about what happened with anybody, even his mother. Jackie can tell he's still upset about what happened, but he plays it off as if he's already moved on and nothing's wrong. But Jackie's smarter than that, and Eric knows it.

"Move over," Jackie sat, gently pushing on Eric's shoulder to get him to make her some room.

Eric gazed at her curiously as she down on his bed next to him. After she made herself comfortable, she looked over at him and sighed.

"What's all this about?" Eric asked, a bit anxiously. Jackie could tell because his voice was a little higher than usual.

"We haven't really talked in a while," Jackie said, shrugging, "I just want to know how you're doing."

"Jackie, we talk all the time," Eric replied, but he knew what she was talking about.

"No, I mean really, really talk," Jackie said, and she decided she'd go ahead and get into what was really bothering her, "Eric, you haven't said really anything since your dad died. You've got to feel something."

Eric averted her gaze and smiled, trying to ignore the feelings that were trying to emerge, "I have talked about it. Remember? After the funeral I talked to you."

"Yeah, but since we got back home you won't say anything," Jackie said, as she looked around his room, spotting an empty beer bottle on his nightstand, "And you've been drinking more than you used to. It's starting to bug me… Eric, you need to talk about this, that's the only way you'll feel better, you can't keep stuff like this bottled up."

Eric shook his head and clenched his jaw, trying to stay strong, "Jackie, I'm fine."

Jackie shook her head, "Eric, when I told you how I felt about my mother earlier, it… It felt amazing. It's feels great to get all of that out. I've never felt better. You have to let all of that baggage out, you can't carry it around with you forever, because eventually it will break you down."

Eric was quiet, he didn't want to say anything, because if he opened his mouth, she'd know just how much was on his shoulders, and he didn't want her to know that he's not the happy boy she always saw. Yeah, he was happy. He wasn't depressed or anything like that, but he still had his problems and… And maybe she was right. Maybe he did need to talk about them. He didn't want to though. He was too scared.

Jackie watched as Eric continued to write, but she noticed that he was baring down on the pencil too hard, prompting her to grab his arm gently, "Eric."

Eric stopped immediately and Jackie noticed the emotion in his face, even though he was trying his hardest to hide it.

"Just talk to me," Jackie said quietly.

What happened next really surprised her. Eric sighed and set his pencil down, finally looking up at Jackie. He didn't know where to start, so he just sort of rambled.

"You want to know what's bothering me?" Eric asked, looking Jackie in the eyes, "Fine. I don't talk to my friends back home as much as I tell everybody. Just like you, I don't really know them that well anymore. Fez having a kid? I just found out about that a few weeks before you did through my mother. Hyde has a girlfriend. I didn't know about that for months. I don't talk to them anymore. I barely talk to my mother, even less now that my dad died. I used to not want to call her because I was a loser, I graduated college and mooched off of my friends. I couldn't find a job.

"I don't call her now because I don't want to cry in front of all of you. I barely talk to her for three minutes on the phone, that's pretty shitty. Her own son doesn't even want to talk to her," Eric went on and on, getting more emotional as he vented, "I can't see my dad anymore. It's not like he ever really showed me love more than twice a year or anything, but I still miss him and it really hurts. I never really knew my grandparents all too well, so their deaths never really hit me too hard. But my dad's… I don't know how to deal with it!

"And even worse, I've got this problem with my eye that I'm so embarrassed about and I don't know why! I mean, look at it, is it really that bad?!" Eric asked, tearing his sunglasses off and finally showing Jackie what he's been afraid to for so long.

They both went quiet, Eric realizing what he'd just done. He didn't know what to say, he seemed embarrassed about it. Jackie looked at him for a moment before she remembered she'd left the door open. She was sure he didn't want the whole apartment seeing him like this, so she stood up and went to go and close the door. When she came back, Eric was looking down at his sunglasses, his face pale in shock. Had he really just done that?

"Eric?" Jackie said gently, approaching the bed slowly and gently.

Eric came back to reality at the sound of her voice, and he dipped his head and rushed to get his glasses back on, hiding the scar once again from sight, "I-I, uh… I… Y-you d-didn't see that, did you?"

Jackie looked down at Eric, not sure what to say to him. He was obviously very embarrassed of everything he just said and did, but he was also very upset.

Eric groaned and dipped his head again, "God… I'm such an idiot."

Jackie shook her head and sat down across from Eric again, "No you're not, Eric."

"Yes I am," Eric insisted, "What the hell is wrong with me? Why can't I just pick up the phone and call my friends? Call my mother? Is it really that hard? Why can't I talk about stuff like this? And why am I so ashamed of everything I do?"

Jackie furrowed her brow and looked down at his fidgeting hands. Jackie reached out and grabbed them gently, making Eric freeze for a second. Jackie looked down at his hands and sighed, trying to figure out how to make him feel better. Earlier all he did was tell her to write a letter to her mother and that made her feel better, because she was able to tell her mother how she really felt. She was never going to send the letter, but just writing it down made her feel better. But her mother was the problem, some of Eric's issues didn't have a face.

Jackie looked up at Eric's face now, or tried to at least. He had his head hung low, as if he didn't want to show Jackie his face. He was so ashamed of what he had just done, he didn't want to look at her.

Jackie released one of his heads and brought hers up to his face, making him look up at her. He avoided her gaze, his face red now with embarrassment.

"It's okay, Eric," Jackie tried, not sure how to handle this. She wasn't usually the one trying to make people feel better, it was usually the other way around.

Eric sniffled, trying to keep himself from crying at least, "You did see me, didn't you?"

Jackie was quiet for a minute as Eric finally looked at her, then she nodded. Eric sighed and avoided her gaze again and Jackie had to say something, "Eric, I don't know why you're so ashamed of the way you look."

"I have a scar that takes up half the right side of my face," Eric snapped, looking up at Jackie once again, "It's hard not to be."

Then they were both quiet. Eric felt bad for snapping at Jackie, and Jackie just didn't know how to respond to what he had just said. It took her a moment to recollect her thoughts before she looked up at Eric's face and released his hands, making him look up at her curiously.

"Can I see?" Jackie asked, prepared for him to say no, but she was surprised with his answer.

Eric shrugged, "I guess I had to do this at some point."

So Eric grabbed the sides of his sunglasses and slowly took them off, his pale hands shaking with nervousness. When he finally took them off he avoided Jackie's gaze, but he did look up enough for her to see the scar and what it had done to his appearance.

Jackie examined it for a second and then she smiled, "Eric… Your eyes are beautiful."

Eric shook his head, "Stop trying to make me feel better, Jackie."

Jackie shook her head and kept the smile on her face, "I'm telling the truth, Eric. You may think it's just pity, but I'm being truthful. You, Eric Forman, are the most beautiful person I've ever met."

Eric shook his head, he couldn't believe her, "I don't think so."

"Well, I do," Jackie replied, grabbing his hands again and squeezing them gently, "There's nothing wrong with you, Eric. You're just human."

Eric could feel the tears stinging his eyes. Everything that he just told her… He couldn't believe he'd done that. He actually did kind of feel a little better, but he still felt sad for some reason. Eric squeezed Jackie's hands, a little harder than she had squeezed his, making her furrow her brow curiously.

"Eric?" She said in a concerned way, and then she was taken off guard when Eric wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her shoulder.

She wrapped her arms around him a moment later, rubbing his back soothingly as he apologized, "I'm sorry for yelling."

Jackie shook her head, "That's okay."

Eric finally cried and Jackie just held him, rubbing his back and trying to comfort him. This is the second time she's done this now. She eventually brought her hand up to his hair and ran her fingers through it, trying to relax him.

After several minutes of hugging, Eric finally spoke, "Jackie?"

"Yeah?" Jackie responded, and what Eric said next changed Jackie's life.

"I think…" Eric was nervous, but he said it anyway, "I think I love you."

Jackie went quiet. How was she supposed to respond to that? Eric felt nervous now that wasn't responding to what he had just revealed, and he pulled away, anxiously looking into Jackie's pretty hazel eyes.

"Jackie?" Eric said, his voice shaking with nervousness.

Jackie finally caught her breath and she brought her hands up and gripped Eric's shaking ones, hers shaking now as well. He looked down at their entwined hands curiously, not sure what to think. He really hoped he didn't just ruin the friendship that they had.

He shook his head, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"

"I love you, too," Jackie finally said.

Now it was Eric's turn to be silent. He tried taking in what he had just heard, surprised actually, "Y-you do?"

Jackie smiled, beamed actually, "Yes, I-I… I love you, and… I think I have for a very long time."

Eric felt a smile trying to make itself present and Jackie's hands slid up to his shoulders, her hands gripping at his shirt. Eric didn't know what to say. Should he say anything at all? He noticed Jackie's eyes kept looking between his eyes and his mouth, he felt his heart beating at a hundred miles per hour. Was she leaning in? He couldn't tell. Jackie's hands gripped his shoulders, her heart pounding.

Before Jackie could stop herself, her hands went to Eric's jaws and she closed the gap between them. Eric hummed against her lips, a little surprised at what she had just done, but he quickly relaxed into the kiss. Jackie felt herself shiver, Eric's hands moving to her arms gently.

She felt weak now, she never knew Eric was such a good kisser. Now she sort of knew what Donna was always raving about. Eric's hands slid down to her hips, pulling her a little closer to him. Jackie tensed a little and slid her hands down to Eric's chest, gripping his shirt tightly as they deepened their kiss. Eric's hands snaked around to her back, puller her even closer. Eric bit her lip gently, but Jackie pulled away then.

"Eric…" She said quietly, they were closer than she realized, she could feel his hot breath on her skin.

"Are you okay?" Eric asked, feeling like he did something wrong.

Jackie nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

Eric noticed Jackie was pulling on the chest of his shirt, "Eric, I… I…" She didn't know how to phrase it.

Jackie's hands slid up around his shoulders, her fingers tickling the hairs on the back on his neck. Did she want more? She was asking herself.

Jackie looked into Eric's eyes, his beautiful eyes that he felt self-conscious about. She felt adrenaline shoot through her body as she bit her lip. Eric didn't know what to say, he didn't know what she wanted. Jackie leaned into Eric a little closer, her hand sliding down to his chest again.

Jackie gripped Eric's shirt again before she leaned in again, kissing him softly. Eric's hands went around her waist again as she deepened the kiss, and he was surprised when Jackie gently pushed him back onto his bed. Eric smiled against her lips. He always suspected she'd be on top. Jackie broke the kiss again and looked down into Eric's eyes again, her legs straddling his hips.

It was only a moment before Jackie kissed him again, her hands playing with the hem of his shirt. This kiss was more intense than the previous two, Jackie's hands were adventuring Eric's body. Jackie brought one hand up to Eric's face, their fast paced kiss escalating.

Eric's hands were still on Jackie's hips, but one of his hands slid up and pushed her shirt up, now he could feel Jackie's smooth skin underneath his hand. Their kiss broke again and they locked eyes as Jackie sat up and pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it aside. So this was really going there? Jackie smiled at Eric as he sat up and pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside like Jackie had done with hers.

Eric and Jackie were so different and Eric had always been self-conscious about the way he looked. Jackie was so beautiful, her body was perfect. Eric was skinny, he always had been, he actually felt a little embarrassed, even though he knew he shouldn't have been.

Jackie noticed how nervous he seemed because of this, and she pushed a strand of messy hair out of his eyes before she told him, "You're beautiful, Eric."

Eric nodded, trying to believe her, but then she kissed him, and his mind went elsewhere. Jackie's hands explored his body and eventually made their way to his pants. She quickly unbuttoned them and he stirred himself out of them as he worked on Jackie's bra.

After several moments of discarding articles of clothing, Jackie pushed Eric's back against the wall and looked down into his eyes. She couldn't believe they were actually doing this. Jackie from five years ago would never believe this, but Jackie from today was very happy with the predicament that she was in. Jackie slid her hands down his chest and pushed her face to his neck, leaving kisses on his flesh. He told her he loved her again quietly as he closed his eyes and rested his hands on Jackie's hips.

Eric's heart was racing even faster now, he enjoyed that. Jackie was mumbling Eric's name as she left trails of kisses on his neck before she pulled away and rested her hands on his shoulders now. Jackie moved a lose strand of hair out of Eric's eyes and smiled sweetly at him, silently asking him if he was sure he wanted to do this.

So Eric kissed Jackie quickly, confirming that for her. Jackie kissed him back quickly as well as she situated herself over him, Eric's hands wrapping around Jackie's middle as she lowered herself onto him. Eric moaned Jackie's name into her neck as her fingers dug into his shoulders. They were both relaxed into each other a moment later, making Jackie gasp Eric's name.

Jackie inhaled, her throat feeling tight. Jackie wrapped her arms around Eric's shoulders, kissing him on the side of the head before she started to move. Eric tightened his arms around Jackie at this, his fingers clawing at Jackie's skin now. Jackie softly kissed Eric, her hands on his shoulders before she pulled away and looked into his eyes, giving him a soft smile.

Jackie's heart swelled at the sight of Eric underneath her, he didn't seem to know what to do with himself. Jackie pushed her face into his neck again, tenderly kissing it. Eric's hands finally moved now, his hands traveling up Jackie's back as Jackie started to pick up the pace.

She quietly breathed his name against his neck, her hands sprawled against his back. Jackie's heart was beating rapidly as Eric kissed her chest.

Eric's hands moved to Jackie's chest, pleasuring her as she was pleasuring him. Jackie moaned against Eric's neck as one of her hands pushed into his thick hair. She sunk her teeth into Eric's shoulder as she felt him tense and pull her closer.

Jackie's hands were pulling at Eric's hair now, making him wince, but he didn't seem to care too much. Jackie barked Eric's name as his hands explored her body. They were both on the edge now, and Jackie practically cried his name.

"Eric…" Jackie moaned, her hands making his hair messy.

Eric kissed her on the mouth again, one hand moving up to her face. Jackie and Eric rested their foreheads against each other, Jackie squeezing her eyes shut tight and gasping as they continued to move against each other.

Jackie groaned as she finally felt herself release, Eric gasping as well. She kept her hands glued to the back of Eric's head as he pushed his face into her shoulder, panting heavily. After a moment of pure bliss, Jackie finally slumped into Eric and tried catching her breath.

She closed her eyes against Eric's shoulder, her arms wrapping around him as she softly pet his hair. Jackie, after evening out her breathing, she smiled, "Wow…"

Eric chuckled and pulled away from her so he could see her face, "You're telling me."

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, both enjoying just being with each other, then Jackie kissed Eric again, both her hands cupping his jaws. It was quick, but deep kiss, then she pulled away and looked down at the bed. She kissed Eric on the cheek one last time before she gently got off of him, deciding to get underneath the sheets, Eric following her lead a moment later.

Jackie wrapped her arm firmly around Eric and pulled him close to her, resting her head against his. Eric released a content sigh as he relaxed next to Jackie, both their faces were a little red.

"Jackie?" Eric finally spoke.

"Yes?" Jackie hummed, a gentle smile on her face.

"Did… Did you mean what you said?" Eric asked, feeling a little nervous.

"About what?" Jackie asked, looking over at Eric.

"You know that… That you loved me?" Eric asked, his hands fidgeting like they always did when he was nervous.

Jackie smiled, "Eric, if I didn't mean that we wouldn't have done what we just did."

Eric smiled in agreement, "Yeah… I know."

Jackie sighed contently as she held her arm around Eric as he leaned his head against her chest. Jackie's hand smoothed his messy tresses as Eric closed his eyes and listened to the beating of her heart. Jackie gazed down at Eric, watching as he clung to her as if he felt he was going to lose her. Jackie swept one of her hands across Eric's forehead lovingly, pushing a strand of slightly sweat ridden hair out of his face before she planted a kiss to the top of his head.

Jackie smiled as she held Eric close. When she was a teenager she always dreamed of finding a strong man to protect her and love her, but now, as she laid here with Eric, she realized she was the protector and not the other way around, and she didn't mind it. Not one bit.

Eric was fragile, and he needed somebody there for him, but he never let anyone know that. Jackie might be the only one besides his mother that knows this. Jackie eventually fell asleep, not long after Eric, both of them feeling a little bit better than they did yesterday.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N – Alright, I'm back. I had to watch the first race of the Formula 1 season on Sunday, so I was up super late because they were racing in Australia and in the US it was one o'clock in the morning, but all went well, my racer finished fifth and my least favorite racer was beat by Sebastian Vettel from Ferrari, so I'm happy. Anyway, you probably don't care about that, just thought I should share, but I'd like to thank TieDyeJackson for reviewing and liking my last chapter. I've never written anything like that before, so I didn't know if I should upload it or not because I didn't really like it, but I decided to chance it and see what everybody thought. I'm glad you liked it. Anyway, this chapter's a bit of a filler, I'm struggling a bit right now, I think I've got a tinge of writer's block, hopefully it'll go away soon. I hope you like this chapter though.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

February 2, 1985

"Well, it's about time," Was the first thing Jackie heard when she woke up that morning.

She groaned sleepily as her eyes fluttered open, stirring a bit and looking up to where the voice was coming from. She saw David standing in the doorway, still in sweatpants and an old t-shirt. Jackie's eyes widened and she immediately gripped the sheets and made sure they were covering her body, which they already were, but this sudden movement made Eric stir.

"David, get out of here!" Jackie snapped, glaring at the skinny man.

"Hey, don't get upset with me," David said, putting his hands on his hips, "Do you know how long we waited for you two to finally get together?"

"We? Who's we?" Jackie asked.

"Pretty much everybody who lives here," David said, smiling smugly at the woman.

"What's going on?" Eric grumbled as he sat up on his elbow and then he saw David, but he seemed to be upset for a completely different reason. He sort of cried out and hid his face underneath the sheets, "David, what are you doing in here?"

"Earning my reward," David smiled, turning to go to the living room, "There was some serious money on you two."

"Get out!" Jackie called, throwing a pillow at the man.

"I'm going, jeez," David said, grabbing the doorknob, "No need to get so feisty. Leave that for the bedroom."

"David!" Jackie warned.

David snickered as he finally left the room, closing the door behind him. Jackie huffed and fell back into the mattress, her head hitting the pillow as she ran a hand across her forehead. Eric removed the sheet from in front of his face as he sat up, looking towards the door.

"He's so annoying," Jackie complained, shaking her head, but there was a smile on her face as she looked up at Eric. Now that the light was pouring in through the blinds she could see his face clearer now, "How'd you sleep?"

"Great," Eric said, looking down at Jackie, a small smile on his face.

Jackie could see the scar clearly now. It didn't look like a typical burn, it just looked like a large birthmark. His eye was a bit droopy, it seemed, and also a bit cloudy, but it wasn't actually that bad. Eric furrowed his brow when he got nervous with the way Jackie was looking at him.

"Jackie, why are you staring at me like that?" Eric asked, gazing at her curiously.

"I don't know," Jackie said, tilting her head as she smiled softly, "I guess I just can't believe you don't see yourself as attractive."

Eric blushed a little and averted eye contact, feeling the corners of his mouth twitch into a small smile. Why did she do this to him?

Jackie giggled and turned her head to look up at the ceiling, "You're cute."

Eric blushed a deeper shade of red now, not used to all the compliments. Eric cleared his throat and decided he should probably get dressed, so he swung his legs over the side of the bed and reached down and grabbed his boxers from the floor. He stood up after he put them on and looked around for his pants, Jackie looking over at him as he did so. It took him a moment to find them and finally he found them under the bed, and Jackie watched him as he put them on.

After a moment she figured she should probably get dressed too, so she sat up and pointed somewhere behind Eric, "Can you pass me my clothes?"

Eric buttoned and zipped his pants before he gathered up Jackie's clothes and set them on the bed next to her before he went to his dresser and looked for a clean shirt to wear.

Jackie slipped on her underwear and put her bra back on as Eric pulled out a Led Zeppelin t-shirt to put on. He's probably had that since high school. Jackie crawled out of bed so she could put on her pants and then she walked around the bed to Eric, smiling up at him as he smoothed out his t-shirt.

"Do you feel better?" Jackie asked, referring to their talk last night. Well, it wasn't really a talk, it was just sort of angry venting on Eric's part.

"Oh yeah," Eric said suggestively, and Jackie smacked him on the chest playfully.

"Not that," Jackie smiled, giggling.

"Oh, the other thing. Gotcha," Eric smiled, chuckling a little bit, "Yeah, I feel better, actually. It's kind of weird."

"Yeah, I know," Jackie said, "I don't know what it is about getting everything off your chest that makes you feel so good, but it just does…" Jackie looked down at Eric's shirt from yesterday laying on the floor and reached down to pick it up, "Can I wear this?"

Eric looked over at what she was holding and shrugged, "Sure."

Jackie smiled and pulled the grey sweatshirt over her head, letting it sag on her shoulders. Yep, she was definitely keeping this. It was so comfy. She wrapped her arms around herself, bundled in the sweater that she already adored. She watched as Eric grabbed his sunglasses off the nightstand and looked down at them, then she frowned and stepped over to him.

"Eric, you look great," Jackie told him, grabbing his wrist, "The others don't care what you look like."

Eric nodded, "I know..."

Jackie gave him a reassuring smile and squeezed his arm supportively, "Come on. I think Andrea's making breakfast."

Eric sighed anxiously and set his glasses down on the table again before Jackie dragged him out of the room and into the living room where Ayrton was sitting on the couch counting some money and David was standing above him patiently waiting.

"Good morning, guys," Jackie smiled as she entered the living room, Eric standing behind her nervously, sort of trying to hide behind her.

"Good morn—Whoa," David said as he and Ayrton turned to look at Eric. Eric seemed very nervous, and David noticed this, so he smiled immediately and said, "I knew it! You owe me ten more bucks!"

"Damn!" Ayrton cried, going through his money to get ten more dollars. The two didn't say anything more about Eric's scar after that, which made Eric feel a little bit better actually.

"You two had money on us?" Jackie suddenly accused them, shooting that famous Burkhart stare their way, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Yeah, didn't I already tell you that?" David asked.

Jackie shook her head, "You guys are awful."

David smiled, "Thanks."

Jackie rolled her eyes and looked towards the kitchen, "Is Andrea making breakfast?"

David turned to her after getting his money from Ayrton and stuffing it in his pocket, "Yeah. He's making croissants and toast… Kind of weird if you ask me…"

Eric, feeling a little more confident in himself than a minute before, pushed past Jackie towards the kitchen, "Well, I'm starving."

"Me too," Ayrton said, getting up from his seat on the couch and stuffing his wallet back into his pocket, Jackie following him into the kitchen with Eric.

They all stopped in the doorway as two of the three children looked over at them. Peyton saw Eric without his sunglasses on and smiled proudly at him, crossing her arms as if in approval.

"You are just in time," Andrea started, turning around, "I just finished—What happened to your face?!'

Everybody in the room flinched and Peyton glared at Andrea, smacking him roughly in the gut, making him grunt in pain, "Andrea! That's rude!"

Andrea nodded, seeming to understand his mistake, "Yes, I apologize. I didn't mean it that way."

Eric smiled and shrugged, "I know, Andy."

Andrea glared at him for shortening his name again, Eric knowing he hated that, but Eric just flashed him a smug smile as Bruno looked over at the three and then shouted, with a beaming smile, "Whoa! Cool scar!"

Eric walked over to the table to sit with Bruno and Leo as Bruno leaned over the table to get a better look.

"What happened? Did you get into a fight? Did you get in a fight with a shark? Ooh, did a fire breathing monster fight you?" Bruno asked questions only a seven year old would think up.

Eric smiled and leaned back in his chair, "Well, it did involve fire, but the person who did this didn't breathe it."

"Did he shoot it out of his hands?" Bruno asked.

Eric nodded, "Yep. He was like some kind of warlock."

Bruno gasped, "Did you fight back?"

Eric nodded, "Oh yeah, I wasn't having any of his crap."

Jackie smiled at Eric as he told the fairytale of the time he defeated a fire bending warlock with his sword that he crafted out of the finest of metals only found in underwater caves. Eric had the imagination of a seven year old, that's probably why he got on with Bruno so well.

Jackie went over to Leo and picked him up so she could sit down and leave the other seat for somebody else. She sat down and put the two year old in her lap as Andrea put some croissants onto a large plate, then David walked into the room, counting his money.

"Andrea, you owe me twenty bucks," David barked, looking up at the older man.

Andrea turned around quickly, a sort of annoyed look on his face, "They finally had sex?!"

Everybody in the room turned to look at Andrea, Ayrton laughing out loud and Peyton trying to stifle a giggle. Bruno just looked confused.

David smiled and nodded, "I told you it wouldn't be much longer, now pay up."

Jackie, blushing a deep shade of crimson, glared at David, "Even Andrea was in on it?!"

Andrea cast a glance at Jackie, as if hurt by her comment, "What do you mean even I was in on it?"

Jackie gave the older man a look and replied with, "No offense, Andrea, but you don't generally catch onto things. Particularly people's feelings, something this whole thing had to involve."

Andrea handed David twenty bucks and turned to look at Jackie, "I may be insensitive, but I know romance when I see it, and… You guys were living here for weeks before I realized you two weren't actually involved."

"How much money did you make, David?" Eric suddenly asked.

"Forty bucks," David smiled, stuffing it all in his back pocket, "Easiest money I've ever made."

Jackie huffed irritably as Eric snickered, then Bruno asked, "What's sex?"

Everybody in the room went quiet as Bruno looked around curiously at the adults. Andrea suddenly grabbed the plate on the counter and cried, "Hey look! Breakfast is done!"

He set the plate in the center of the table and the immediately asked Bruno, "You want milk?"

Bruno smiled, "Chocolate milk, please!"

Andrea nodded and went to the fridge to gather the ingredients. Jackie and Eric both smiled, happy they had averted that whole conversation. After the topic had moved onto something else, the whole 'family' ate together in the kitchen.

0-0-0-0-0

February 8, 1985

Almost a week later, Eric decided to relieve Jackie of the stress that was three children and take them out for a while. They went to the park for a little bit and went out to lunch, now they were heading to a record shop about two blocks from where they lived.

"Thanks for taking us to the park, Eric," Bruno chimed from atop Eric's shoulders, his hands resting on top of Eric's head.

"No problem, kiddo," Eric replied with a smile.

"Can we go to a movie next weekend?" Peyton asked as she held Leo's hand as they walked down the sidewalk.

"Sure, what do you want to see?" Eric asked.

"It's called The Breakfast Club, it looks super cool!" Peyton beamed, seeming stoked for this movie.

"The Breakfast Club? I think I've seen the critics reviews on that, you think you're old enough to see it?" Eric asked.

"Of course I am! I'm thirteen!" Peyton reminded him.

"But the movie's rated R," Eric said.

"I'd have to be seventeen to go alone, but if you take me…" Peyton tried warming him to the idea.

Eric thought for a moment, "I don't know, I'll think about it."

Peyton seemed to be happy with this answer as she smiled, "Eric, you're the coolest."

"I just said I'll think about it, it's not a definite yes," Eric informed her, even thought he'd probably end up taking her anyway.

"Still. My mom never let me go to movies, even PG-13 ones," Peyton said, "She didn't like me being exposed to cussing and all that."

Eric didn't reply with anything, because he had a few choice words for the kid's mother. Eventually the three made it to the record store and Eric had to set Bruno down on his feet before they went inside. After they entered the store, the kids were amazed at how many records were in there.

"Whoa…" Peyton smiled, looking around the store, "This place is so cool! How come you've never brought us here before?"

Eric shrugged, "I don't know… I guess this is where I come when I need some alone time. It can get a bit hectic at home, especially with Dennis and Andy there."

Peyton nodded, crossing her arms over her chest, "Tell me about it."

Eric thought for a moment and then looked down at the two older kids, "Here's the deal. Because you guys are always real good around the apartment and help out with all the cleaning, go find yourself a record each."

Peyton and Bruno both smiled up at Eric, "Really?"

Eric smiled and nodded, "Yeah."

Peyton grabbed his arm then, a little excited, "Whatever record we want?"

Eric nodded, "Yeah. Whatever record you want."

Peyton jumped up and down a little giddily, "Yes! This is great! Come on, Bruno!"

Peyton grabbed her little brother's hand and dragged him through the store to look for a couple of records. Eric looked down at the toddler and held out his hand, "Come on, let's go see if we can find anything REM."

Leo grabbed Eric's hand and they went to the rock section to look through some records. The group were in there for about half an hour, looking for the perfect record to bring home. Peyton brought back Meat is Murder, an album by The Smiths, which was one of Eric's favorite bands right now. Bruno had a hip-hop record by Run DMC, which Eric had heard was pretty good, and Eric himself got a John Lennon album that was released last year, his last album.

Eric remembers the day he was shot. It was one of the worst days of his life. John Lennon was a huge inspiration to him.

Eric checked out all their items and then the group headed home. Peyton and Bruno thought this was the greatest day ever, Leo seemed pretty happy too. Eric was just going to figure out how to explain to Andrea that the kids probably wouldn't be hungry for dinner tonight because he bought them milkshakes and French fries for lunch just a few hours previous.

0-0-0-0-0

It was that night after the kids had gone to bed, after Ayrton had fallen asleep on the couch watching TV, and after Andrea went to bed and David headed over to Maya's house that Eric decided to head into his room for the night as well.

He was going to his small closet to put the new records he bought today away with his other ones, but he saw a box in the corner of the closet that he had forgotten he even brought with him. Eric pulled the box out of the closet and opened it up and inside were just piles and piles of pictures. Eric smiled and remembers this is the box his mother gave to him before he left his old house last month. Maybe she thought this would help him mourn.

Eric put two of his three records away and then pulled out the box of photographs, bringing it over to his bed and setting it down. He put on his John Lennon record and let it play quietly as he went to sit on his bed and opened the box once more, but before he could even start going through it, there was a knock on his door and Jackie peeked her head in, "Eric?"

Eric smiled at her and gestured his hand for her to come in, "Look what I found."

Jackie stepped in the room and closed the door behind her quietly, not wanting to wake up the boy sleeping in the living room. She stepped over to Eric's bed and gazed down at him curiously and at the box sitting in front of him, "What's all this?"

Eric scooted over and grabbed her hand, making her sit down next to him, "They're old childhood pictures. My mom gave them to me before we left last month. I forgot about it and just stuffed it in my closet, but…"

"There's a lot of pictures there," Jackie said, looking down at the box in amazement.

"Yeah, look," Eric grabbed a picture off the top of the box and showed it to Jackie, "Here's me when I was a baby."

Jackie immediately smiled down at the photo. He had blonde hair when he was little, really blonde hair. It was a picture of him being held by his dad as he sucked on his thumb, Red was smiling in the photo.

"You're adorable," Jackie beamed as she looked at the photo, it was too cute.

"Here's me at about a year," Eric said, handing Jackie another photo of him being held by his dad.

"You had curly hair when you were little?" Jackie asked. She never knew that.

Eric nodded, "Yeah, I get it from my mom. She had curly hair when she was younger."

Jackie smiled and looked down at the box, pulling out a picture of Red with an approximately five year old Eric, "What's going on here?"

Eric looked down at the photo in Jackie's hand and smiled, "Oh, that's when I was helping my dad fix his car. I held the flashlight for him while he worked underneath the car."

"I thought you couldn't fix a car?" Jackie smiled.

Eric shrugged, "Dad says when I was little I was obsessed with cars, but I kind of outgrew it and got into—"

"Comic books and Star Wars?" Jackie giggled, making Eric smile.

"Yeah," Eric smirked, looking through the box again and then he groaned, "Oh God…"

Eric pulled out a photo of him when he was about three or four and showed it to Jackie, who giggled when she saw it, "What the hell are you doing in this picture?"

Eric shrugged, "I think I'm baptizing a baby doll."

Jackie giggled, "Yeah, you got a bible in your hand."

Eric smiled, "I went to a weird Sunday school."

"You're probably the cutest kid ever, Eric," Jackie smiled, going through the box herself now.

Eric smiled, "Why thank you, Jackie."

"You're welcome," Jackie said as she pulled out another picture, "This looks like it's going to lead to injury."

Eric looked at the picture of him standing on top of a fence railing, "You'd be surprised that I was quite the daredevil when I was kid."

Jackie smiled, "Really?"

Eric nodded, "I used to do stupid stuff all the time. I broke my ankle when I was four because I tried climbing over my fence and my foot got stuck in an opening."

Jackie cringed, "When you were four?"

Eric nodded, "Yeah, I was back to doing stupid stuff again when I got my cast off."

"I'm not surprised," Jackie giggled, making Eric nudge her with his shoulder.

They continued going through old photos. One was of Eric on his wooden race car that he says he built himself, another was of him playing at the park with his mom, but Jackie still loved the picture of curly haired baby Eric. She thought it was the cutest thing in the whole world.

"What were you like as a kid?" Jackie asked Eric after a few minutes of going through old photos.

Eric shrugged, "Mom says I was a daredevil, but a bit shy. I had my fazes."

"What were those fazes?" Jackie asked curiously.

"Well, when I was a baby I was really quiet, so quiet my parents thought there was something wrong with me," Eric started, "But after I started toddling around they said I became very vocal and was a very happy kid. And then, I think I was around six I want to say, I started having trouble in school, turns out I had ADHD, but my parents didn't medicate me because they thought it would make me tired and grumpy all the time, so, I eventually figured out I just had to study harder, which turned out okay.

"Then I had my daredevil faze," Eric went on, "I broke my ankle, like I've already said, but surprisingly I wasn't hurt that often, just that one time. And then, when I was ten I think, that's when Laurie and I started arguing a lot and we haven't really been that close since I was probably nine or so. She started getting popular at school and she didn't want to be seen with her 'dorky brother,' but, you know… I guess stuff happens for a reason… I was overall a pretty good kid, I didn't break rules too often… My life's not all that interesting, what about you? What were like as a kid?"

Jackie shrugged, "I don't know, I remember when I was really little I used to listen to rock music with my dad. My family used to hang out all the time, and we were real close until I was about five, then I started school and my dad got into some stuff he shouldn't have been in and my mom started traveling all the time. I spent most of my time with my nanny Rosa. She used to play baseball with me in the backyard and she'd take me to the roller skating rink all the time. She taught me how to dance… She was more of a mother figure to me than my real mother ever was. But she got a job as a teacher and it paid a lot better than what my parents were paying her, so… She went off to teach, but sometimes she'd still come by and hang out with me, just for old time's sake."

Eric didn't know that about her, "You're parents left you when you were five?"

Jackie nodded, "Pretty much."

"Jackie, that's… That's horrible," Eric said, frowning sadly, "You never really said anything. To anybody."

Jackie shrugged, "I don't like people feeling pity for me. Besides, I think everything turned out okay, I like the way I turned out."

Eric smiled and nodded, "Yeah, me too."


	12. Chapter 12

A/N – Hey guys, sorry it's been a few days. I've had a bit of writer's block, but I just sat down today and started writing. We got some family type stuff going on in this chapter, particularly between Jackie and Andrea. There's a thunderstorm, things happen. It's great sibling like love. I hope you enjoy it.

I probably won't have a chapter out tomorrow, I'm a bit busy. I've got to go to the grocery store tomorrow and I have to buy some more shorts for the summer, it's getting a bit too hot here to wear jeans all the time. Also, Rogue One comes out and I haven't seen it yet, and… I'm a bit of a Star Wars geek and it looks super awesome. So I'll definitely be watching that tomorrow. I guess now I'll go watch some baseball. GO INDIANS! Anyway, enough about me, I'm sure you want to read the chapter, so have at it! I hope you enjoy it, it's got all the gushy family stuff in it.

Disclaimer – I obviously don't own this show or it's character's, if I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction about it.

April 4, 1985

Jackie didn't like thunderstorms. She never did. It was raining heavily, the wind was blowing, and the thunder was loud. Jackie couldn't sleep with it like this, to be honest, nobody really could. Even Eric couldn't sleep, and he was a heavy sleeper. So here both Eric and Jackie sat, both in pajamas, in Eric's bed, soon to be three year old Leo sitting on the bed with them, as he was scared of the loud noises coming from outside.

"There was a monster outside," Leo babbled, pointing to the window.

"I don't think that was a monster, buddy," Eric assured him, but Leo shook his head.

"But it was tapping on the window," Leo tried.

"That's just one of the plants," Eric informed him, then the thunder cracked again and Leo cowered back into Eric's chest.

Eric held the frightened little boy in his arms as Jackie looked towards the window. She's been scared of thunderstorms since she was a little girl, she tried to hide it now, but they still frightened her.

They only sat in the dimly lit room for a moment more when the power suddenly went out. The room was immediately filled with the frightened screams of a two year old Leo. Eric held the boy close and looked over to Jackie, but he couldn't see her with how dark it was in the room.

"I'll go find a flashlight," Eric said, handing the child to Jackie before he got out of bed.

Jackie wanted to beg him not to go, but he had already left the room, so Jackie sat there in bed for a few minutes with a sobbing toddler in her arms. The thunder cracked again and that was enough of that. Jackie kicked the sheets off of her legs and got out of bed, going to the living room to try and find Eric. Thank God when she got out there he was with David who was holding a flashlight. Now they could see each other.

"Everybody alright?" Eric asked as he looked at the three other people in the room.

"The power went out, nobody died," David remarked sarcastically.

"No need to be a smart ass, David," Eric sort of snapped, sending a glare towards the shorter man.

A moment later, the two other children and a recently turned nineteen year old Ayrton approached the four, Bruno sniffling and trying to hold back tears.

"You alright, buddy?" Eric asked, looking down at the sniffling boy.

Bruno nodded as he wiped his eye, his bottom lip quivering a little and everybody in the room jerked when thunder boomed again.

"Come here, bud," Eric said to the young boy, holding out his arms.

Bruno let Eric pick him up and he wrapped his little arms around his neck, resting his tired head on his shoulder. Jackie looked around at everybody and noticed they were missing one person, "Where's Andrea?"

Eric shrugged and looked around, "Probably in his room freaking out. He hates storms."

Jackie nodded and looked towards Andrea's closed bedroom door. She looked to Ayrton and started to hand him Leo, "Here, take him. I'll go and see if I can coax him out of his room."

Ayrton nodded and took the still sobbing toddler into his arms, holding him close to try and calm him down. Jackie walked past her roommates and went towards Ayrton's door as the rest of the group headed towards the couch, figuring it'd be best just to stay together for the night, mostly so they could make the scared kids feel better.

Jackie got to Andrea's door and knocked on the door a little louder than usual so he could hear her over the heavy rain and wind, "Andrea? Are you okay?"

When she didn't receive an answer she opened his door and peeked inside. He wasn't in his bed, but the sheets were pulled back and all disarray. Jackie furrowed her brow and stepped further into the room, leaving the door slightly ajar behind her.

"Andrea?" She called out again. She knew how he got when it came to thunderstorms, they freaked him out, probably worse than they freaked her out.

As she ventured further into the room, she made out a figure sitting next to the bed. He was sitting in an upright fetal position, his head bowed and rested on top of his knees, and his hands covering his ears; he was also rocking back and forth, as he did when he was frightened or nervous.

Jackie stepped over to him and knelt down in front of him, "Andrea…" She reached her hand out and placed it on his shoulder, but he jerked back and lifted his head, his hands grabbing her wrist roughly and shoving her back. Jackie whimpered in pain when his short, chewed fingernails dug into her flesh and she fell back on her hands after he released her, "Andrea… It's just me."

Andrea realized this and then bowed his head again, covering his ears once more as he said, muffled, "Make it stop…"

Jackie sighed and crawled back to sit in front of her friend, careful when she reached out to touch him this time. He flinched when she grabbed his wrists, but he didn't retaliate this time. She, with a little bit of force, took his hands away from his ears so he could hear her.

"It's just a storm," Jackie tried, even though she was frightened as well.

"I know it's just a storm, that doesn't mean I have to like it!" Andrea cried, clenching his fists as Jackie kept ahold of his wrists.

"I know," Jackie said, trying to stay calm, at least for his sake. These always led him into having panic attacks, "Can I tell you a secret?"

"I don't care about your stupid secret right now, Jackie!" Andrea snapped, having no concern for her feelings.

Jackie sort of expected that response though, so it didn't really faze her. She told him anyway, "I'm afraid of storms, too."

Andrea shook his head, "You don't show it!"

Jackie nodded, "That's because you're scared. I'm trying to stay calm so you don't freak out even worse."

Andrea seemed confused by this, "I couldn't do that."

"Come on, everybody's in the living room," Jackie said, finally loosening her grip on his wrists, "Maybe having the company of everyone else will make you feel better?"

Andrea shook his head and jerked his hands away from Jackie again, "I'd rather stay here."

Jackie sighed as he covered his ears again. She needed help, Andrea was always so stubborn, even when having a crisis. Jackie stood and turned towards the door, Andrea hyperventilating now. Jackie left his room and went back to the living room, seeing everyone sitting either on the couch or on the floor now.

"Eric," Jackie called, garnering the sleepy man's attention, "A little help here?"

Eric nodded and looked to David, "Watch them for a minute?"

"Yeah," David responded as Eric stood, Bruno immediately cowering into David's side now, his little hands grasping the man's shirt.

Eric and Jackie then returned to Andrea's room, but Jackie stayed in the doorway as Eric went over to the panicking man and knelt down, "Andrea."

Andrea leaned into the side of his bed and cowered away from everybody. It was usually hard to get him to respond willingly to someone trying to help during one of these panic attacks, Eric sometimes had to force him to respond.

So Eric grabbed Andrea's hands and pulled them away from his ears, a little rougher than Jackie had and Andrea tried fighting back, kicking at Eric and trying to wrestle his arms out of Eric's grasp.

"Andrea! Calm down, I'm trying to help!" Eric tried, but Andrea didn't really seem to care.

"Leave me alone!" Andrea yelled, freeing one of his hands and grabbing Eric's wrist, digging his nails into it.

Eric cried out in pain as Jackie approached to try and help out, but just as she stopped in front of them and knelt down, Eric's snatched his hand away from Andrea's clawing ones and Jackie grabbed Andrea's arm, and he retaliated violently. He reached out his hand and hit her in the face, leaving scratches across her cheek. As Jackie fell back, holding her bleeding face, Eric stood and, filled with anger, he grabbed the neck of Andrea's shirt and lifted him to his feet, pushing him back against the wall.

"Don't touch her!" Eric snapped, glaring at Andrea, who was now scared of Eric rather than the storm. This was just not his night.

"Eric, it's not his fault," Jackie said as she stood and went over to the two.

Eric looked down at her and saw her bleeding face, and it made him angrier, but he was smart, he knew Andrea couldn't control himself when he was in this state, he's seen him hit David before, and David always stayed calm and tried helping him.

Eric turned back to Andrea and saw him hitting himself over the head now, and he released the neck of his shirt and grabbed his wrists again, pulling them away from his head and pulling them to his sides, then he put both his hands on either side of Andrea's head to get him to look at him, "Andy, look at me. Look at me."

It didn't work, but Andrea was running out of energy and his fighting back got a little sloppy. Jackie decided she could step in now and help. She gently grabbed Andrea's arm and looked up at him before she asked, "Do you want to go out there with everybody else, now? It might distract you from the storm."

Andrea reached up and grabbed Eric's wrists again, but more gently this time, and he pushed them away from him before he nodded to Jackie's question.

So Jackie smiled and grabbed his hand, "Come on, then."

The three left Andrea's room and went back into the living room where the rest of the 'family' was. As soon as they got close enough the couch everyone noticed the scratch on Jackie's face.

"What happened?!" Peyton cried, sitting up to see if Jackie was alright.

"Nothing, I'm fine," Jackie assured her.

"Andrea hit you, didn't he?" David asked, one eyebrow raised.

"I didn't mean to," Andrea suddenly said, still tense with fear from the still heavy pouring rain outside.

"I know you didn't," David assured him, standing as he looked at Jackie, "I'll got get you a washcloth."

"Thanks," Jackie smiled as David passed to go the bathroom.

Eric, Jackie and Andrea then sat down on the couch, Bruno sitting next to Eric and leaning against him as soon as he sat down. Ayrton was holding Leo in his lap, the toddler having finally calmed down and was now just sniffling. David came back with a warm washcloth a moment later and handed it to Jackie before he sat down on the floor with Ayrton and Leo.

"Thanks David," Jackie said.

"No problem," He replied.

Jackie put the washcloth to her face as Eric wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Andrea, surprisingly, still had a grip on Jackie's hand. Jackie looked over at him; his head was bowed and he was sniffling, his foot kicking, making his heel hit the couch with a thud. The thunder boomed again and both Jackie and Andrea flinched, but Andrea now pulled his hand away from Jackie and covered his ears again, but he had ceased his hyperventilating at this point, he just looked plain tired now.

Jackie, knowing he was uncomfortable with people hugging him, carefully wrapped her arm around his middle and pulled him a little closer to the rest of the family.

He looked over at her, his hands still covering his ears as he said, "You know I don't like being hugged."

"I know," Jackie said, but Andrea didn't pull away.

Andrea was super uncomfortable, but he knew he needed this. He was generally pretty grumpy, and when this storm passed, he'd revert back to that state, but right now he was going to deal with this. He was picked on by everybody in the household, mostly by David and Eric, but they both cared for him. They cared for him like an annoying know it all little brother, even though Andrea was older than the both of them.

Jackie felt Eric's arm tighten around her shoulders and she smiled as she leaned her head on his shoulder. She didn't get into the conversation that Eric and David had started, she just listened to it, hoping that it would get her mind off of the thunderstorm. And it did, at least a little bit. Every once in a while the thunder would boom again and she'd flinch, but she kept her mind focused on other things, and eventually those other things lulled her into a deep sleep.

0-0-0-0-0

April 5, 1985

Jackie woke up the next morning with a smile on her face. She had had the greatest dream ever. She would have to tell Eric all about later. Jackie stretched and realized she was alone. In bed. She remembers falling asleep on the couch. Eric must have moved her here.

Jackie sat up and stretched her arms above her head, looking around the room and then at the clock. It was nine a.m. Jackie got out of bed and decided she'd go see what everyone was up to. She walked out of her and Eric's now shared bedroom and went into the living room, but nobody was in there either. She raised an eyebrow. Where was everyone?

She walked around the corner into the kitchen and saw Andrea sitting at the small table reading the newspaper, "Good morning, Andrea."

Andrea, not even looking up at her, said, "Good morning, Jackie."

Jackie looked around, ignoring Andrea's unusually more annoyed tone, and said, "Where's everybody at?"

"David's at Maya's apartment, helping her move in her new couch, Eric went out with the kids, and Ayrton's still asleep," Andrea said quickly, his fingers nervously fidgeting, making the newspaper crinkle.

"Oh," Was all Jackie said about that. Eric probably took the kids to the park so they could play in the puddles, he always did that with them after a storm. Jackie curiously looked down at Andrea, a little concerned about his behavior, "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Was all he said.

"Are you sure?" Jackie asked, crossing her arms over her chest, "You seem… Grumpier than usual."

"I'm fine," Andrea replied.

Jackie sighed and stepped a little closer to the table, sending the stubborn man a look, "Andrea, I know something's bothering you, so would you for once not be so stubborn and tell me what's wrong?"

Andrea's hands were fidgeting more now and he slammed the newspaper down on the table, making Jackie flinch before he looked up at her, seeming angry, "I said I'm fine, now would you leave me alone?!"

Jackie flinched at his venomous tone and it took her a moment to collect her thoughts, but eventually she nodded, "Yeah… Fine."

Jackie turned to leave the kitchen, a little hurt by his words and tone, but a moment later she heard him sigh and say, "I'm sorry."

Jackie stopped and turned to look at him again, "Sorry?"

Andrea nodded, avoiding her eyes as his hands gripped the edge of the table nervously, "Yes, I'm sorry. For yelling at you, and… I'm assuming I did that."

Jackie was confused for a second, and then she realized he was talking about the scratches on her face, "Yeah… You did…"

Jackie didn't know what to say really. Andrea didn't generally apologize for much, he was brutally honest and thought what he said was usually the right thing to say. He was hard to handle sometimes. But Jackie knew this was hard for him, so she tried being supportive.

"I didn't mean to hit you," Andrea informed her, still not looking up at her, his dark eyes were focused on the tabletop.

Jackie nodded and gave him a sympathetic look, "I know, Andrea."

Andrea was then quiet, as if he didn't know what to say next. Something else was bothering him, but he didn't really want to tell her, and Jackie knew this.

"What else is bothering you?" Jackie asked, taking a few steps closer to him.

Andrea sighed and bowed his head further, "I-I… I feel embarrassed."

Jackie furrowed her brow and slumped her shoulders, "Why?"

"Because I… I had that meltdown last night in front of you and Eric," Andrea said, his voice quiet.

"Andrea… You don't have to be embarrassed about that," Jackie tried, wanting him to feel better, "I've had panic attacks before."

"But do you yell at people and hit them?" Andrea asked, wanting the truth.

Jackie shook her head. She's probably yelled at someone before during a panic attack, but she's never hit them, "No…"

"Then you have nothing to be ashamed of," Andrea said, his voice bitter, "I've been having these 'panic attacks' since I was a child. I've always been a freak."

Jackie shook her head, "You're not a freak. Weird? Yes. But you're not a freak. Trust me."

Andrea shook his head, sort of looking up at Jackie now, but not exactly, "You don't understand. When you were a kid you were 'popular,' people liked you, they wanted to talk to you. I was just a trouble making asshole who thought he was better than everyone else and had no friends. I'm still that person."

Jackie shook her head, "But you're not… You're not a troublemaker, if anything, you try to avoid any conflict. And you can be a bit rude sometimes, but… To be honest, I don't think you even know you're being rude, you just have… Social problems. But that's not a bad thing. And if you think everybody living here in this apartment isn't your friend, I'm sorry to tell you that you're dead wrong. You're like the brother I never had, Andrea. You're annoying and can be a bit much sometimes, but you're also very sweet and funny. So quit feeling down on yourself, everybody here cares about you."

"I-I didn't know you felt that way," He said, his voice a little strained now.

"Well… I do. We all do, so… Come here," Jackie said, holding her arms out, "You knew this would lead to a hug, right?"

Andrea smiled a little and nodded, "I figured."

Jackie smiled as Andrea stood, and she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his middle, resting her head on his shoulder. His hug was loose, as usual, but he at least tried this time. His arms were around her and he had his head leaned on her shoulder, so this was a little better than previous hugs.

"We all love you," Jackie told him, patting his back.

He nodded into her shoulder, "I know… I love you guys, too."

Now that was progress Jackie never thought she'd see.

0-0-0-0-0

Later that night, everyone besides Eric and Jackie were in the living room watching TV. There was a rerun of Jackie's old show on and she'd rather not stick around to hear the taunting. So, with Eric, she decided she should go lay down.

"How were the kids today?" Jackie asked as she tried finding a pair of pajama pants to wear.

"They were good," Eric replied, looking through some papers he was supposed to grade over the weekend that he obviously waited last second to do. The school was short staffed, so Eric was a music and English teacher, "Leo was a bit grumpy since he didn't get good sleep last night, but… Other than that, everything was fine. Bruno got all muddy though."

"Yeah, I know," Jackie rolled her eyes, "Andrea was pissed when he started tracking it all over the apartment."

Eric snickered, "Classic Andy… He seemed a bit different today. Do you think he's mad at me?"

"Mad at you for what?" Jackie asked, raising one eyebrow curiously as she turned to look at him.

"For last night, when I yelled at him," Eric reminded her, "Remember? I sort of… Threatened him."

"You didn't threaten him," Jackie said, "You were just a little upset. You calmed down. Besides, I talked to him earlier, that's not why."

"Then what's wrong with him?" Eric asked.

Jackie shrugged, "He told me he was embarrassed for freaking out last night."

Eric looked up at Jackie at this, "Embarrassed?"

Jackie nodded, "Yeah. He's only really freaked out like that before in front of David, but last night he had us to deal with and… I think that upset him."

Eric shook his head, "I'll talk to him in the morning, let him know it wasn't a big deal."

"I already told him," Jackie said, "Now I think we should just give him a little space. Maybe just not mention again?"

Eric nodded, "Yeah. I guess I'll just stick to calling him 'Andy' and telling him his food sucks."

Jackie rolled his eyes, "His food does not suck."

"I know, but it's fun to tell him that," Eric said, as if it were the funniest thing ever.

"You're so mean," Jackie said, but with a playful smile.

"Tell me something I don't know," Eric smiled back, going back to grading his papers.

Jackie stretched her arms above her head and groaned sleepily before she trekked over to the bed and flopped down onto her stomach, "I'm so tired."

Eric hummed, "Yeah, I know. You were tossing and turning all night. You kept mumbling in your sleep… You must've had a nightmare."

Jackie rolled over on her back and shook her head, "No, it wasn't a nightmare. It was a great dream."

Eric raised an eyebrow, "It must've been, because you kicked me like ten times last night."

Jackie rolled her eyes and sat up, "I was dreaming about us."

Eric smiled, "Do tell me more."

Jackie rolled her eyes, "It wasn't that kind of dream."

Eric chuckled, "Alright, what was it about then?"

"Well, it was us in the future, like fifteen years maybe," Jackie said, "We had a family."

"A family, huh?" Eric said, looking over at Jackie, a small smile on his face, "Like, with kids and stuff?"

Jackie nodded, smiling, "Yeah. We had five."

"Five?" Eric smiled, "That's a lot… What were they like?"

Jackie tried thinking back to it, trying to remember any detail she could, "Well, there was Nick, he was the oldest. When the dream started he was playing soccer in the backyard with you."

"Soccer? I was never good at soccer," Eric informed her.

"Well, our son sure was," Jackie said. When she said 'our son' she noticed the corner of Eric's mouth twitch into a smile, and it warmed her heart. She went on, "And then there was Matt, he just learned how to ride his bike. He was the cutest little thing. He looked like you."

"This must have been a vivid dream," Eric said, a little surprised at what she remembered.

"It was," Jackie said, nodding and smiling, "I absolutely adored it. Now let me think… Oh! Tony was the sweet one. He looked like me, but he had your eyes. He was helping me make dinner. And then we had twins. Alex and Alice. They were little, probably just a little bit older than Leo. They were the cutest little things."

Eric smiled, "You really liked that dream, huh?"

Jackie nodded, "It was amazing... I've always thought about my future like that, I guess. I dream too much."

Eric shook his head with a smile, "I don't know, Jackie. I mean… If you want it to happen, we could have a family some day. I mean, it's a little early now, but… Maybe one day, several years down the line."

"I guess we'll see where life takes us," Jackie smiled.

Jackie didn't tell him this, but she's never actually had dreams like that before with other boyfriends she's had. Well, she has, but she's never been so excited about it like she was now. She didn't really know how to deal with these feelings, she just hoped that dream would one day be reality.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N – I'm back. I got Rogue One yesterday and watched it, and… Oh God, did it destroy me. Why did it end that way? It hurt my feelings and I'm not cool with that. Anyway, I present to you the next chapter, we got some action in this one. Eric's a badass here, so be prepared. I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

May 5, 1985

About a month later there was a completely different crisis, something other than thunderstorms. Andrea's car was having some issues and, instead of the panic he felt last month, all he was filled with now was anger and annoyance.

"This is bullshit!" Andrea cried as the man working at the mechanics gave him the estimate to fix his car, "You're going to fix my brakes and windows, and you are telling me it is going to cost eleven hundred dollars?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but that's the real cost," The man at the shop tried.

"Bullshit!" Andrea cried again, "Complete and utter bullshit!"

Jackie laughed nervously and grabbed Andrea's arm, trying to calm him down, "I'm sorry, he's got a bit of a temper."

"You think?" The man said, his arms crossed.

"Don't get snappy with me, sir!" Andrea snapped, glaring at the man.

"Please, get him away from me," The man said, trying to keep his cool, but Andrea wasn't helping matters.

"I want to speak to the owner!" Andrea ordered.

"You are," The man replied, rather smugly.

This only seemed to anger Andrea more, "You run a shit box!"

"Watch your tone, little man. You don't want to fuck with me," The man replied, his gaze hard now.

"I'm not fucking with you, I'm too bust fucking with your m—" Then Eric came up behind Andrea and covered his mouth with his own hand.

"I'm so sorry," Eric smiled nervously, Andrea fighting at his hands, "You go ahead and fix up the car, I'll cover it."

The man glared at Andrea, but decided to leave him alone and turned to go back into the garage. Eric dragged Andrea outside, Jackie following. Once they were outside, Eric cried out at a sudden sharp pain in his hand. He pushed Andrea away from him and looked down at his hand that was now bleeding a little bit.

"What the hell?!" Eric cried, looking at Andrea as if he were crazy, "You bit me!"

Andrea didn't seem to care, he just pointed back at the garage and went on with his rant, "Can you believe this? He wants to charge me eleven hundred dollars to fix my shitty car? I can't afford that!"

Eric nodded, "I know, that's why I'm paying for it."

Andrea looked at Eric now, his facial expression slightly confused now, "What?"

"I'll pay for it," Eric said, shrugging, "Come on, Andrea, look at everything you've done for me and Jackie. And you're not making us pay for the kids to stay. You deserve a little slack every now and again."

"But—"

"No, don't even try to fight me on it," Eric said, holding up his uninjured hand, "I'm going to do it anyway… Besides, if you tried to pay now, he might charge you more out of spite."

Andrea shook his head, "He wouldn't do that."

"For God's sake, Andy, you nearly told him you fucked his mother," Eric said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his wallet, "I'll go ahead and go pay, you two stay here."

And so Andrea and Jackie stood outside and waited for Eric to come back, and it was now that Jackie realized that they were in a sketchy part of town and she suddenly felt very uncomfortable. She crossed her arms over her chest as she looked down at her feet, kicking at a small stone on the sidewalk.

"I don't like it here," Jackie complained, trying to distract herself.

Andrea scratched the back of his head and looked around, "I know. People here are such assholes."

Jackie shook her head, "No, I mean… It's kind of creepy."

Andrea looked over at Jackie, "It's fine. I'm always over here, nothing will happen."

Jackie looked around the area they were in and realized that there wasn't any people really around. That was either a good thing, because they wouldn't be approached, or it was a bad thing, because no one would be a witness to their murder.

"I just hope Eric hurries," Jackie said, tightening her arms around herself.

"It's fine, Jackie," Andrea was at least trying to make her feel better, even though it wasn't working.

The two stood there for about two minutes and Eric still hadn't returned. It was quite busy in the mechanics today, there were a lot of cars to be fixed up, so he probably had to wait, which didn't make Jackie feel better. She heard some footsteps from beside her somewhere, a little off to the distance, so she looked up slightly.

There was a man, looked middle aged, approaching them. He looked intimidating. He was wearing a white tank top and he had tattoos all down his arms. He had slicked back black hair and had a cigarette hanging from his bottom lip.

"Andrea," Jackie whined quietly as she scooted back to be closer to him.

"What's up, pretty lady?" The man smiled smugly as he stopped in front of them, then he looked at Andrea, "This your man?"

"Uh—" Andrea started, but Jackie cut him off.

"Yes!" Jackie said, panicking. Maybe he'd leave them alone if he thought her and Andrea were together. Andrea sort of looked at Jackie funny, but he caught on after a moment.

The man smiled down at the two before he connected eyes with Jackie again, "What's your name?"

"I'd rather not," Jackie said nervously.

"Want to know mine first? I see," The man smiled. This didn't sound like it was going to end well, "I'm Cisco, pleasure to meet you."

He grabbed Jackie's hand, which disgusted her completely.

"Leave her alone," Andrea suddenly jumped in front of her, sizing 'Cisco' up.

"Oh, Mr. Tough Guy, huh?" Cisco smiled, getting up in Andrea's face, "I bet you've never had a fight in your life."

"Please, leave us alone," Andrea pleaded, but he had a determined and somewhat threatening look in his eye. If there was one thing about Andrea that never failed to surprise anybody, was that he always stood his ground, no matter the size of the other guy.

Cisco chuckled and shook his head, "Oh, I ain't leaving… Now move out of my way, short stop."

He tried shoving Andrea out from in front of Jackie, but he fought back and stayed in his place, "Leave. Now."

"You don't want to mess with me, little man," Cisco snapped, his smile slowly fading as his dark eyes became threatening, "I will break you."

"Go away," Andrea kept trying, and it was sort of making Jackie nervous.

"I'm warning you," The large man snapped, "Move out of my way. She's out of your league anyway."

Andrea narrowed his eyes at the man, "Look who's talking."

Cisco narrowed his eyes now too as he suddenly grabbed Andrea by his arms, pulled him away from Jackie, and pushed him back, where he stumbled, but kept his footing.

"What are you going to do?" The man growled as he stepped closer to Andrea, "You want to fight? Let's fight."

"Please, don't hurt him," Jackie finally spoke. Andrea kept the anger in his eyes, but Jackie could see the fear behind it all.

"Why shouldn't I?" Cisco asked, smiling smugly.

"Because, he didn't do anything wrong," Jackie snapped, trying to be tough, "Just leave him alone."

"Should I?" Cisco asked himself, looking up as if in thought, then he shook his head, "No, I don't think I should."

Then, without hesitation, Cisco threw his arm back, ready to hit Andrea, but Jackie acted. She ran forward and tried stopping the large man, but he felt her grab his arm and he twisted around and back handed her. Hard.

She fell back and hit the ground with a thud. She was in a daze, she couldn't see straight. Did she hit her head when she fell? Yeah, she did. There was blood in her hair, she reached around to touch it, it made her woozy.

"Jackie!" Andrea cried as he charged at Cisco, and for Andrea to be a little guy, he wiped Cisco right off his feet.

Cisco quickly retaliated though and grabbed Andrea's shoulders and tossed him off of him and stood quickly, "Not bad, little man. I'm impressed."

Andrea stood and lifted his fists in front of him as Cisco reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metal piece. Then he flipped something up and Andrea realized this was a pocket knife. He felt nervous now, panic welling up inside of him, but he had to fight, he had to make sure Jackie was okay.

Andrea threw his fist forward, trying to land a blow to Cisco's face, but Cisco swiped his knife down and sliced Andrea's forearm, blood quickly running down his arm and dripping onto the ground. Andrea cried out in pain and quickly examined his arm, making sure he'd be okay. Cisco started stepping towards Andrea, his knife pointed towards him. Andrea had raised his fists again, trying to stand his ground, but the fear in his eyes was more evident now.

Andrea took a swing at Cisco again, but missed and Cisco quickly swung back and sliced Andrea's side with the sharpened knife. That one hurt more than his forearm and he could feel tears of pain sting his eyes, but he kept them held back and held up his fists again, but it was too late. Cisco used his free hand to grab Andrea by the throat, his other hand still holding the knife. He shoved Andrea back up against the wall and put the blade of his knife up to his throat.

"I warned you," Cisco snapped, a sick smile on his face.

"Please," Andrea gasped, trying to suck in some air as he clawed at the larger man's arm.

"Don't try and beg," Cisco snapped, "I warned you not to mess with me."

Cisco smiled darkly as he watched Andrea gasp for air, but his pleasure didn't last long. A moment later, he was suddenly on the ground. He cried out in pain as he slid across the concrete, his back getting scraped up. He looked up and saw Eric standing over him, his hand suddenly reaching down and grabbing him by the chest of his shirt, pulling him to his feet.

"Give me one reason not to kill you right here, right now," Eric snapped, his glare enough to kill.

"Get the fuck off of me," Cisco growled, trying to push Eric off of him. Eric was a little guy. He was tall, but he didn't have a lot of muscle mass, but right now he was running on pure adrenaline.

"That's not a reason," Eric spat, turning and shoving Cisco against the wall now, knocking the air out of his lungs.

"You don't know who you're messing with," Cisco snapped, clawing at Eric's hand, seeming to have lost his knife.

"I know he isn't as tough as he thinks he is," Eric snapped.

"You don't know me," Cisco growled.

"No," Eric hardened his gaze, "But I know you're getting your ass kicked by a one-hundred and forty pound kid."

"Let me go," Cisco tried, still clawing at Eric's arms.

"I'll tell you what," Eric said, "You leave me and my friends alone, and maybe, just maybe, I won't have to use this on you."

Eric then held up Cisco's knife that he dropped and Cisco genuinely looked scared now. He knew how sharp that blade was, he didn't want to mess with that.

"You think I'm scared of you?" He tried anyway.

Eric pushed the knife closer to Cisco's face, making the man shrink back, "You should be."

"Okay, okay! I got it! I won't bother you guys anymore, just let me go!" He cried.

Eric stood there for a moment, holding Cisco against the wall, then he released him and shoved him back onto the sidewalk. Cisco brushed himself off and glared at Eric.

"Can I have my knife back?" He snapped, glaring at the younger man.

Eric looked down at the knife that had blood on the blade, "No, I think I'll keep it to remind me of the time I kicked your ass."

Cisco glared at Eric, but he turned and walked away. Eric watched him, making sure he did leave, and when he disappeared from sight, he turned towards his friends. He folded the knife back and put it in his pocket before he went to Jackie.

"Jackie, are you okay?" He asked, helping her sit up.

Jackie groaned at the pain in the back of her head, but she nodded, wincing, "I'm fine, I'm fine…" She pointed to the injured man a few feet away, "Andrea…"

Eric turned and looked at Andrea sitting up, but struggling, "Andy…" Eric quickly went over to the injured man and helped him sit up, "Are you okay?"

"Ow…" Andrea winced, holding his bleeding arm.

"Oh God," Eric said, panic in his voice, helping Andrea stay sat up. He gently grabbed his injured arm and looked over it.

Andrea wiped his wet eyes and tried not to look at the blood, "Thank God you got here in time."

Eric looked up at Andrea and put a hand on his shoulder, "You're going to be okay."

Eric stood and grabbed Andrea's hand's, pulling him to his feet. Eric took him over to the wall so he could lean back against it as he went to help Jackie. He grabbed her hands and helped her stand, grabbing her arms to steady her when she stumbled.

"We got to get you guys to a hospital," Eric said, wrapping an arm around Jackie to help her walk. Eric directed his two inured friends to his car, letting Jackie lay in the back seat and Andrea sit up front with him, "Don't worry, guys. I'll get us there as fast as I can."

0-0-0-0-0

"That kind of hurt," Jackie said as they entered their apartment, prodding at the back of her head.

"I got two sets of stitches," Andrea said, "Why are you complaining?"

"Stop touching it, Jackie. The doctor told you not to do that," Eric scolded as he closed and locked the door behind him.

At the sound of the door closing, the other people in the apartment all came running. Around the corner came all five of them, all of them looking worried and relieved at the same time.

"Jackie, Andrea! Are you okay?" Ayrton said first, worry in his dark eyes.

"We're fine," Jackie said, wincing at the pain in her head. She needed to go and get some rest.

Ayrton then stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Jackie, hugging her tightly, "I'm so sorry this happened to you."

"I'm fine, Ayrton," Jackie assured him, knowing how the boy could get.

Ayrton nodded before he pulled away and looked down into her eyes, "I'm glad."

Jackie smiled and tilted her head towards Andrea, "You should have seen Andrea out there. I didn't know he could fight like that."

"I got my ass kicked," Andrea snapped, looking tired himself.

"Are you alright?" David asked, approaching his roommate of three years.

Andrea nodded, "Yes, I'm fine. I'm just tired, that's all."

"We were all so worried about you guys," Peyton said, gazing at all of them with concern, "How'd you get out of it?"

Jackie smirked proudly and gestured to Eric, "This guy right here has been hiding some strength from us."

"Yes," Andrea nodded in agreement, rubbing the back of his head, "He kicked that guy's ass."

"Did you use your magic powers?" Bruno asked, remembering Eric's other story from a couple months back.

Eric nodded and smiled, "Yes I did."

"Can you tell me about it?" Bruno asked excitedly.

Eric scratched the back of his head, "Well, it's pretty close to bedtime…"

"It can be a bedtime story!" Bruno tried talking him into it.

Eric sighed, "Well, alright. But you got go and brush your teeth first."

"I'm on it!" Bruno then dashed around the corner to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

Eric turned back to Jackie and grabbed her hand, "Why don't you go ahead and go lay down? I'll be there in a little while."

Jackie nodded, "Okay."

Eric wrapped an arm around her and placed a soft kiss to her forehead before he went off to the kid's room, the room that used to be Jackie's. Peyton took the three year old Leo back to the room, following Eric as the other two left to go back into the living room, staying just a moment longer to make sure Andrea and Jackie were really okay.

After they were gone, Jackie turned to Andrea and smiled gratefully at him, "Thanks for everything you did today, Andrea."

Andrea rubbed the back of his head as he looked down at Jackie quizzically, "What? I got my ass kicked. That's nothing you should be thanking me for."

"But you tried," Jackie said, "You protected me. Thank you."

Andrea was quiet, but he smiled a tad and nodded curtly. Jackie smiled up at him and stood on her tip toes, planting a kiss on his cheek before she turned to go to her room, but she saw the blush spread on Andrea's cheeks before she left, making her smile.

0-0-0-0-0

Jackie laid in bed for about half an hour by herself, trying to keep her mind off of what happened to her earlier. She'd have nightmares for weeks. That could have gone horribly wrong. If Eric didn't come out in time, they could've been dead the way it was going.

Eric entered the room at about ten o'clock, closing the door quietly behind him before he turned to see Jackie. She was looking up at him, the saddest and most fearful look on her face. Eric frowned and slumped his shoulders before he approached the bed. He sat down and faced Jackie, holding his arms out for a hug.

Jackie sat up quickly and wrapped her arms around Eric's neck, burying her face in his shoulder. Eric held her tight and rubbed her back soothingly, trying to calm her. He never wanted to let her go again after what had happened today.

Eric sighed nervously as he rested his head against her shoulder, Jackie was still trying to keep herself from crying, but she wasn't sure how much longer she could do it. She felt a tear run down her cheek as she sat there in Eric's arms, she was so glad she was safe at home now.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Eric said, his voice strained as he felt the tears sting his eyes as well.

Jackie couldn't hold the tears back any longer, so she just let them fall. She twisted Eric's shirt in her small hands, she was so nervous. She didn't want to leave the apartment anymore, that's how badly this scared her.

"I love you," Jackie whimpered softly, resting her head against Eric's shoulder.

Eric smiled and stopped his hands from moving against her back, "I love you, too."

Jackie pulled her head away from Eric's shoulder and looked into his eyes, moving her hands down to his shoulders now. Eric smiled sweetly at her as he ducked his head and let their lips meet. Jackie gripped the shoulders of Eric's shirt as he kissed her, this moment right here drawing her out of her emotional state, at least just a little bit. The kiss only lasted a few seconds and then they pulled away from each other.

Eric looked down at Jackie's face and saw how dark her eyes looked; she was so tired, "You should get some sleep."

Jackie nodded in agreement, her eyes were heavy, it didn't help that she was just crying. She wiped her eyes and face of tears and slumped her shoulders. She didn't want to sleep, she didn't want to have nightmares.

"Jackie," Eric said gently, "I'm right here. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

Jackie smiled sweetly at him, "I know."

Eric pushed a stray strand of hair out of Jackie's face and behind her ear before he kissed her again, but it was just a quick one this time, "Get some rest."

Jackie nodded, "Okay."

Jackie pulled away from Eric and laid down on her side, facing him. She didn't realize how tired she was until her head hit the pillow, because as soon as she laid down, her eyes slid shut and she fell into a deep sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N – Thanks for all the reviews, here's a new chapter. It's a bit shorter and it's kind of a filler, there's some emotional stuff in this one, I don't really like it that much, maybe you will. Anyway, thanks again for the reviews. TieDyeJackson, I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Also, I liked the ending to Rogue One, it still made me sad, though. I did like that they did something a lot of movies are afraid to do with an ending like that, it was different than what I was used to and it did make me feel something for the characters, something a lot of movies lack these days. Anyways, thanks to AmbientSpaceNoise and Novakovik who also reviewed the last chapter. I hope you guys like this new one. Enjoy!

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

May 6, 1985

"Jackie…" She heard as she was slowly pulled out of sleep, she felt someone poking her on the arm, "Jackie, you're going to be late for work."

Jackie groaned and grabbed their arm, pushing it away from her. She knew it was Eric, he always woke her up in the most annoying ways.

"Jackie," Eric said louder now, "I know you're sleepy, but you got to get up," When she didn't move, Eric rolled his eyes, "And I thought I'd be the lazy one in the relationship."

"I'm not lazy…" Jackie groaned into her pillow, finding it hard to fall back asleep now thanks to the sunshine pouring in from the window, "I just didn't sleep well…"

Eric frowned, "Bad dreams?"

Jackie sighed and rolled over onto her back, casting her sleepy gaze onto Eric as she nodded. She looked so sad it made Eric frown harder. He sat down on the edge of the bed and looked down at her face, her bedhead bringing a slight smile to his face.

"I don't want to go to work today," Jackie said, rubbing the sleep from her eye.

Eric nodded and looked down at his hands in his lap, "I know, but you have to… You work in the nice part of town, you got good friends over there... Everything will be fine, I promise."

Jackie sighed and nodded, "I know… I've just got to get over this. It was really scary."

"I know," Eric said, "When Andy's car is ready you guys aren't coming with. Me and David are going to go and pick it up."

"But… I don't want you getting hurt," Jackie worried, grabbing his hand.

Eric gave her a comforting smile, "I won't. Remember, I was the one that was kicking ass yesterday."

Jackie smiled, "Yeah, I know… Where did you learn to fight like that?"

Eric shrugged, "My dad. He taught me how to take an attacker down when I was little."

"Well, it paid off," Jackie smiled.

Eric nodded and sighed before he pat Jackie on the arm and stood up, "Come on, get up. You don't want to be late."

Jackie sighed and looked up at the ceiling for a moment more before she decided to finally get up. Time to be brave.

0-0-0-0-0

"I'm just having the worst week!" Jackie cried as she stormed into her and Eric's bedroom and slammed the door behind her.

Eric, worried, looked up at her and frowned, "Jackie, what's wrong?"

Jackie paced angrily, her fists clenched, but there was something else in her eyes, something more powerful. Sadness.

"She's such a witch! How can she do this to me again?!" Jackie cried angrily.

"Jackie…" Eric didn't really know what to say.

"God! Why does she always do this?!" Jackie cried, "I can't believe her!"

"Jackie, just… Try and calm down," Eric said, standing up from the bed, taking a step towards his girlfriend.

"She's always lying to me! She has been since the day I started Kindergarten!" Jackie said, more to herself than to Eric.

"Jackie..." Eric tried, holding his hands out to her.

Now Eric saw the tears running down Jackie's face, but she was trying to hide it with all of her anger. She wiped her face quickly as she continued pacing, but Eric stopped her by grabbing her shoulders gently.

"Jackie, tell me what's wrong," Eric said calmly.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?!" Jackie cried, struggling to keep the tears from coming, "My mother is ditching me once again!"

"Jackie, slow down," Eric said, she was confusing him, "What's wrong? How is she ditching you?"

"A few weeks ago, she called me," Jackie said, trying to calm down, "She told me she wanted to see me, and soon. I told her that'd be nice, she annoys me so much, but I do miss her, she is my mother… Then she calls me and tells me she's going away to Spain and she'll be gone for God knows how long!"

Eric didn't really know what to say. She was so upset, Eric couldn't really relate though. His parents were generally there for him, whenever he had a problem they were there. When he was five and fell off his bike, his dad was there to fix it. When he was eight and wanted to bake a cookies for a sick classmate, his mom was there to help. When he was thirteen and broke his ankle, his parents were both there to make him feel better. Jackie's parents were never around to fix scraped knees, bake cookies, or heal a broken heart. She was always by herself.

"Jackie, I… I don't know what to say," Eric said honestly, his hands sliding down to her arms.

"I'm just… I'm so angry!" Jackie cried as she finally frowned, her angry expression faltering, "And I'm sad… And heartbroken."

Jackie then dropped her head and let the tears fall now, "Why can't she just visit me once? What do all those foreign countries have that she can't once stop by to see me? I want to know…"

She covered her face with her hands and cried, making Eric frown. He could only watch her cry for a minute before he pulled her into his arms. He rubbed her back soothingly, trying to calm her down. Jackie buried her face in the chest of Eric's grey t-shirt and sobbed, her small hands grasping at his shirt.

"I hate her," Jackie whined into Eric's chest, "I hate her so much."

"Everything will be okay," Eric said, running his fingers through Jackie's hair.

"What do I need to do to make her love me?" Jackie asked as she stayed glued to Eric. Eric pulled away from Jackie slowly and shook his head.

"Jackie, it's not your fault she's like she is," Eric urged, his hands on her shoulders, "She's always been that way."

"How do you know?" Jackie asked, her voice high with sadness and anger.

"Jackie, you were five when she left," Eric reminded her, "What could a five year old possibly do that would cause that? The answer is nothing. She's the way she is because she was born that way, and it's not your fault. It never has been."

Jackie smiled sweetly at Eric through the tears and wiped her eyes, "You always know how to make a girl feel better."

Eric smiled softly, his hands squeezing Jackie's shoulders gently, "You alright?"

"I'm fine," Jackie said, not wanting Eric to let go of her, "I just needed to let out some pent up emotions."

"I know," Eric nodded, "I love you."

"You're sweet," Jackie said as she wiped her eyes as tears flooded them again, "I love you, too."

0-0-0-0-0

May 8, 1985

That Friday, instead of going out, the group decided just to stay in. Andrea and Jackie were both still a little on edge, and Jackie's week was made even worse by the phone call she received from her mother, so they all just sat around the table a drank a couple of beers.

Peyton was still grounded from what she did at school, so she was in her room with the other two, who were both sleeping already.

Jackie was relaxed after having a few drinks and she was just listening to the boys talk. Jackie thought when she first moved in her it would get annoying living with just men, but they surprised her. They all had very different personalities. David was snarky and slightly annoying, Andrea was grumpy, but sweet, Ayrton was funny and kind, and Eric was… Well, he was Eric. Jackie's favorite nerd.

"You're telling me you've never been with a girl before?" David said, talking to Ayrton.

"Never," Ayrton said, shrugging. It didn't seem to bother him that much.

"Isn't that frustrating?" David asked, a little tipsy.

Ayrton shook his head, "I am only nineteen, remember?"

"I lost my virginity when I was seventeen," David informed him.

"So did I!" Eric cried, clanking his beer bottle against David's.

"Plenty of people wait until they are older," Ayrton said, none of this bothering him at all, "Unlike all of you, I do not strive for sex."

"You are unlike any man I have ever met before," Jackie suddenly said, putting a gentle hand on Ayrton's shoulder.

"I will take that as a compliment," Ayrton smiled.

"What about you, Forman?" David suddenly asked, looking over at Eric, "Have you been with any other woman besides Jackie?"

"Yeah," Eric replied, taking a sip from his beer, "My ex-girlfriend back in Wisconsin."

"Really? That's it?" David asked.

"David, I don't really enjoy sleeping around," Eric said, "I actually like to develop a relationship with a woman first before I do anything of that nature."

"You can be with more than two women and not sleep around," David informed him, "Come on, you went to college for four years. You're telling me you didn't have sex for that whole time?"

"Well…" He trailed off, as if he didn't want to talk about it in front of Jackie.

"It's fine, Eric," Jackie said, smiling sweetly at him, "I've grown out of my jealous faze. It's all good."

"Well, okay…" Eric stopped to think, "Well, when I was still in high school, me and Donna broke up and there was this one girl…"

The group listened to Eric's story. Apparently Eric's been with three other girls, the girl he went out with a couple of times when he broke up with Donna for that short period of time, and two girls in college that he dated. Eric's old college friends weren't kidding when they said Eric was a ladies man back in school.

It's was about half an hour later they were all still hanging around the table, still on the topic of people they'd dated in the past, but the conversation ended when David started to complain.

"I ain't feeling so well…" David groaned suddenly, his beer hanging between his fingers and he held his stomach. Then he wretched and his nearly empty beer bottle fell out of his hand and crashed onto the floor, shattering into a dozen pieces and he wretched again.

"Whoa, buddy," Eric set his beer down, along with Ayrton, and the two stood and grabbed each of David's arms, pulling him to his feet and taking him out of the room, Jackie giggling when she heard the boys start panicking when David gagged, both of them hoping he didn't throw up on them.

After the three loudest ones left, the room went silent. Jackie gazed down at her half empty beer on the table, her eyes feeling heavy with sleep.

"Have you been okay?" Andrea suddenly said, watching Jackie nervously, "Since Tuesday, I mean."

Jackie nodded, forcing a smile now, "Yeah, I'm doing okay, I guess."

"Well… That's good…" Andrea said awkwardly. Jackie gazed at him curiously, and a small smile made itself present.

"How about you? How've you been handling it?" Jackie asked.

"As I normally handle traumatic events," Andrea started, "With anger and a lot of anxiety."

"It'll get better," Jackie said softly as she looked down at her drink.

"I know," Andrea said in his usual monotone.

Jackie sighed and stroked the side of her beer bottle with her thumb, then she picked it up and took a large swig from it, deciding to change the subject to something a little more cheerful.

"What about you, then?" Jackie asked brightly, looking into Andrea's brown eyes.

"What about me, what?" Andrea asked in a confused manner.

"Have you ever been with a woman?" She asked.

Andrea quickly averted her gaze, his brow twitching in confusion and sudden anxiety, "Well, uh…"

"Come on," Jackie urged, "I won't tell anyone."

"I don't know…" Andrea trailed off, a little embarrassed, his cheeks heating up.

"What? Have you never been with a woman before?" Jackie asked.

Andrea shook his head, "No, I mean… I have… But…"

"Just one, right?" Jackie asked, one eyebrow raised.

Andrea nodded, seeming a little embarrassed about it. Jackie watched as he drank from his bottle, setting it back on the table a moment later and tapping on the glass anxiously.

"What was her name?" Jackie asked, trying to make him more comfortable.

"Talia," Andrea said, "She was my girlfriend back in Italy. Her friends didn't know about me. I think she was embarrassed of me."

"Embarrassed of you?" Jackie questioned.

"Because I'm weird… She was a party girl, and well… I'm antisocial," Andrea reminded, chuckling sadly.

"You'll eventually find someone," Jackie said, smiling sweetly at him, "She'll love you for who you are. If that Talia girl didn't like you because you're a little weird, then I'm glad you guys didn't end up together in the end."

Andrea smiled at Jackie, "Thanks, Jackie."

"No problem," Jackie smiled back at him.

"Jackie, David threw up on Eric and he is not having a great time," Ayrton suddenly said as he ran back into the kitchen.

"I got David," Andrea offered as he stood. He'd dealt with a drunk and sick David before. He's actually dealt with him in this state many times.

Andrea and Jackie both stood and followed Ayrton to the bathroom, where David was still vomiting and Eric was trying not to.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N – Sorry it took a couple of days, I'm trying to update as soon as possible. I had to help my parents with some yardwork today, otherwise this would've been uploaded earlier this afternoon. I hope you guys like it.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

July 5, 1985

It was summer break for Eric, which was the good thing about being a teacher. It worked out perfect so he could stay home with the three kids while everybody else worked. Well, Andrea was here, he worked nights, but the kids got along with Eric much better than they did with Andrea.

Eric got home from the grocery store that afternoon and trudged into the kitchen, placing several bags on the counter next to where Andrea was washing dishes. Eric then sniffled and rubbed at is eye before he sat down at the table with a thud. Bruno was sitting at the table coloring in his coloring book and he sent Eric a nervous look, Andrea did the same.

"Are you okay, Eric?" Andrea asked in his thick accent.

"I think I'm going to die," Eric exaggerated as he rested his head in his arms on top of the table.

"It's just a cold," Bruno said brightly, patting Eric's back, "Just take your medicine and rest. That's what my mom said would always help."

"Just don't get me sick," Andrea complained as stayed as far away from Eric as he could.

"I'm not going to get you sick, Andy," Eric said as he looked up at the man in annoyance, but as soon as he lifted his head a sharp pain travelled through his temple, causing him to groan and rub the side of his head, resting it on the table again.

"For the last time, my name is no—Never mind…" Andrea just gave up and turned back to washing the dishes.

A moment later, they heard the front door slam shut and footsteps walk around the corner and come into the kitchen.

"I'm home," Jackie announced, seeming a little annoyed, but she tried to sound cheerful, "Thank God…"

Andrea released a tense breath and looked over his shoulder at Jackie, "Yes, thank God you are home. Your boyfriend is about to drive me crazy."

Jackie furrowed her brow and looked down at the table where Eric was sitting, "Why? What's he done now?"

"All day, he's been complaining," Andrea cried, tossing a dish in the clean side of the sink so it could dry, "So I sent him out to get groceries, but now he's back, and he brought the complaining with him."

Jackie approached Eric, "What's wrong, Eric?"

"I'm sick," Eric said, his voice muffled by his arms.

"The flu is going around," Jackie said, rubbing his back and making him lift his head. She pressed a gentle hand to his forehead, "You're burning up."

"Great…" Eric complained, his eyes heavy.

"Come on, you need to go lay down," Jackie said as she grabbed Eric's wrist and pulled him to his feet.

"Okay…" Eric said quietly, feeling like he could just collapse right now.

Jackie gently led Eric to their shared room, one hand on his arm, the other on his lower back. After they entered the room, Jackie closed the door behind them.

"Go get some comfy clothes to wear," Jackie ordered, pointing to the dresser.

Eric made a small noise to let her know he heard her as he walked over to his dresser and rifled through his belongings to find something comfortable to wear. Jackie took her hair out of its ponytail and let it loose, her dark locks falling down her back as she waited for Eric to change. It only took him a moment before he tossed his clothes into a pile in the corner and then he turned to Jackie.

Jackie felt so bad for him. His face was pale and his nose was an irritated red. He was shivering noticeably, even though he was now wearing a sweater. Jackie stepped over to him and grabbed his arm, "Come on, get in bed."

"I can't see anything, Jackie," Eric complained as Jackie helped him into bed, "It's a miracle I made it home alive."

"You'll be okay," Jackie assured him as she made him lay down; she pulled the blankets up around him to keep him warm.

Jackie kicked off her shoes and went to place them by the door and then she turned back to look at Eric; he was still shivering. Jackie sighed and went back over to the bed, deciding to get in with him. It had been a long day, she could use a good rest too. She got into bed with him and pulled the blanket over both of them, though she sat up and looked down at him, stroking the hair out of his face.

Eric leaned into her touch and rolled onto his side, resting his head in Jackie lap. Jackie was a little taken aback by his actions, but she quickly relaxed, as did he. Jackie smiled down at him as he released a tired breath, and she continued to softly stroke his thick hair.

"You're cozy," Eric said quietly, closing his eyes.

"Thanks?" Jackie giggled.

"No problem," Eric said in return, feeling warmer now.

Jackie smiled and leaned her head back against the pillow behind her. After a few more minutes of stroking Eric's hair, he fell asleep, snoring quietly. After he was finally asleep, Jackie closed her eyes, feeling comfortable where she was.

0-0-0-0-0

July 8, 1985

On Monday morning, Eric was still sick. Jackie took him to the hospital on Saturday night after he threw up and he had to stay in the hospital, where he still was. They said he had pneumonia and he was a little dehydrated. He was getting a little better, but he was still very tired and he still had an IV hooked up to his arm.

Jackie would go and visit him after work.

"Alright, I'll see you guys later," Jackie said as she entered the living room, where Ayrton, Peyton, Bruno, and Leo all sat watching TV.

All four of them said goodbye in some way, waving to her as she adjusted her purse on her shoulder. She smiled at them all and turned towards the door, but then Andrea came out of the kitchen and called out to her.

"Wait!" He called, grabbing his keys and heading towards her, "I'll drive you."

"No Andrea, you don't need to do that, I've got Eric's car," Jackie reminded him.

Andrea shook his head, "No, it is fine. I have to go to the store anyways, this will just be easier. Besides, when I pick you up this afternoon we can both go and see Eric."

Jackie smiled sweetly at him, "Awe… Somebody's worried about Eric."

Andrea furrowed his brow at her in an annoyed way, "Of course I am worried, he is very sick."

"You do have feelings," Jackie teased, poking him in the side.

"Andrea has feelings?" Ayrton asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Shut up," Andrea snapped, sending a sharp look Ayrton's way, but the teenager only smiled at him.

"Alright, come on," Jackie said, gesturing for him to follow her.

Both of them left the apartment and went downstairs and through Andrea's bar. They got in Andrea's new car and he started it up, and through the speakers came some old sixties tunes. Jackie rolled her eyes at his taste in music and put on her seatbelt.

"Do you always listen to this?" Jackie asked.

"Yes," Andrea said, "It's better than what is on the radio today."

"How old are you?" Jackie asked teasingly, but he answered her honestly.

"Thirty-three, remember? I had a birthday last month," Andrea said as he fiddled with his rearview mirror.

"I was joking, Andrea," Jackie said, putting a hand on his knee.

"It wasn't very funny," Andrea said.

Jackie rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat as Andrea sat back in his and finally pushed down on the gas to get the car rolling. They sat in silence for pretty much the entire car ride. Jackie looked out the window the entire time and just thought about Eric. She hoped he was doing okay, he was really tired when she went to visit him yesterday afternoon, hopefully he's doing better now.

Andrea pulled up to Jackie's workplace thirty minutes later, but when he did, he was talking on his cellphone, which he always had with him. Jackie hated the damn thing, it would never catch on.

"So cosa io parlando," Andrea snapped over the phone and Jackie rolled her eyes as he yelled at the person on the other line. She went through her purse and tried to find her lip balm as he continued huffing and puffing.

"Jackie," She suddenly heard to her right and she turned to look. It was her coworker and friend, Rachel.

Jackie smiled and rolled down the window, "Rachel, hi."

"I just wanted to know if you were going to be able to make it to the baby shower this afternoon," Rachel asked, "Georgie really wants you to be there."

Jackie furrowed her brow sadly, "I don't think I'll be able to make it. Eric's in the hospital with pneumonia."

"Oh God," Rachel put a hand to her heart, "Is he okay?"

Jackie nodded, "He's getting better. I'm going to go and see him after work."

"Well, I'm sure Georgie will understand," Rachel said, "Send him my best wishes."

"I will," Jackie nodded, "I got Georgie's gift in the backseat, I'll bring it in to her."

"Alright," Rachel said as Andrea called out again, garnering both girls attention.

"No, io sono finite con te, Paolo," Andrea snapped and he looked more annoyed than before after the man responded to whatever he just said, and he shouted into the phone, "Andare a farsi fottere!"

Then he hung up. Whatever he shouted into the phone didn't sound pleasant. Jackie and Rachel shared a look and Rachel said, "I'm guessing this is Andrea."

"Yeah," Jackie said, nudging her driver, "Andrea, this is my friend, Rachel."

"Nice to meet you," Andrea said quickly, looking down at his watch.

"You're the one that owns the bar, right?" Rachel asked.

Andrea nodded, "Yes."

"What's it called?" Rachel asked, leaning down to catch his eye.

"Miglior in Italia," Andrea answered.

"Sounds fancy," Rachel said, smiling at him.

Jackie smiled at the two as Rachel went on, "Maybe I'll stop by some time."

"That'd be great," Andrea said, though he wasn't enthusiastic.

"I'll see you around then?" Rachel asked, smiling sweetly.

"Yes, I suppose," Andrea said then looked at Jackie, "I've got business to attend to, I will see you later."

"Alright," Jackie said, grabbing her purse, "Whatever said 'business' is, be careful."

"I will," Andrea said as Jackie leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"See you this afternoon," Jackie said as she got out of the car and reached into the backseat, grabbing her friend's gift.

"Okay," Andrea said as Jackie stepped back onto the sidewalk. She and Rachel waved Andrea off and he pulled back onto the street and went on with his day.

"He's cute," Rachel said to Jackie.

"I thought you were flirting with him," Jackie smiled as her and her friend went into the office.

0-0-0-0-0

Jackie left work at exactly five o'clock that afternoon, and at exactly five 'clock, Andrea was there waiting for her. Jackie rolled her eyes at his always impressive timing and got into the car.

"Hey Andrea," Jackie greeted as she closed the door and put on her seatbelt.

"Hello," Andrea said, sounding a lot more tolerable than he did earlier this morning.

"How was your day?" Jackie asked, putting her purse in the floorboard by her feet.

"Fine. And yours?" Andrea asked, looking up at his rearview mirror.

"Good," Jackie said.

"Are you ready, then?" Andrea asked, looking over at her.

"Yeah," Jackie said and Andrea pulled out onto the road. It was quiet for a minute, Jackie trying to figure out how to bring this up, so she just asked, "Do you remember Rachel?"

"The girl I met this morning?" Andrea questioned, raising an eyebrow, "What about her?"

Jackie smiled, "She seemed to like you."

"She was nice," Andrea said, not seeming to catch what Jackie was hinting at.

"She was a little more than nice," Jackie said.

Andrea furrowed his brow, "What do you mean?"

Jackie rolled her eyes and slumped her shoulders, "She was totally into you."

"What?" Andrea suddenly said, his voice higher than normal, meaning he was nervous, "No she wasn't."

"Yes, she was," Jackie informed him, smiling.

"She was just trying to make conversation," Andrea tried.

Jackie shook her head though, "I know she was into you."

"How?" Andrea asked.

"Because after you left she told me she thought you were cute," Jackie told him and his eyebrows shot up a little bit.

"Really? She thinks I'm 'cute?'" He used air quotes around the word.

"No need to sound so surprised," Jackie said.

"It's just… Girls don't generally like me like that," Andrea admitted.

Jackie rolled her eyes again. There was generally a lot of that when you talked to Andrea, "Girls check you out all the time, you just don't notice it."

"They don't, though," Andrea said.

Jackie nodded, "Yes, they do. I've been with you when it's happened."

"Why would girls like me?" Andrea asked, seeming genuinely curious.

"For God's sake, Andrea. Look at yourself," Jackie cried, seeming surprised he didn't know.

"What?" Andrea asked.

"You own a bar, you drink fine wine, you're good looking, Italian, AND you drive a Ferrari," Jackie said, trying to point out the obvious to him, "Not to mention you're funny and sweet. All of these things are really attractive qualities."

Andrea shook his head, blushing a little, "No, girls don't like me that way."

"Andrea, I've seen men look at you that way," Jackie laughed.

"Everyone looks at me funny because I'm weird," Andrea tried.

Jackie was confused, "It's as if you don't want people to like you in a romantic way."

"I do," Andrea defended, "It's just… I find it hard to believe."

"Why?" Jackie asked.

"Well… I've never told anyone but David this, but…" Andrea trailed off, nervous about telling Jackie his secret.

"What?" Jackie prod curiously.

Andrea sighed. He couldn't believe he was about to tell her this, "About two years ago, I was in a relationship with a woman named Clarissa," Andrea started, "Everything was fine for the first couple of months, but after a while she just got… mean."

"Mean? Like how?" Jackie asked, concerned now.

"She started with yelling at me," Andrea went on, "She would get mad at me for little things, like… Forgetting to wash up the dishes or, leaving my keys just lying around. Then she started calling me names."

"What kind of names?" Jackie asked curiously.

"I'd rather not say," Andrea said, and Jackie understood.

"Well… What happened after all of that?" Jackie asked.

"She started hitting me," Andrea went on, "Even in public."

"And nobody ever helped?" Jackie asked.

"There's a double standard when it comes to abusive relationships," Andrea explained, seeming a little hurt bringing this up, "I called the cops on her twice. The first time she played victim and told me I was scaring her and she acted in self-defense. The second time they asked me what I did that made her so mad she wanted to hit me, as if it were my fault."

"That's awful," Jackie said, putting a hand on his as he stopped at a stop light.

"She hit me in public one other time, and it was the last time," Andrea said, "She hit me in the face and a woman came to help me, and when she did, some other people did as well. Security led her out of the store we were in and she was arrested later. Luckily there were witnesses and she was charged with assault and some other things."

"I'm so sorry," Jackie said, "I didn't know."

Andrea shrugged, "I guess I'm just afraid to be in another relationship."

Jackie sighed and nodded, "I guess I can understand that, but… Rachel really did like you. She brought you up a few times today."

"Really?" Andrea asked curiously.

Jackie nodded, "Yeah. She's really sweet, but a bit sassy. But she wouldn't hurt a fly."

"How did she know who I was?" Andrea asked.

Jackie smiled and shrugged, "I talk about you and the others at work all the time. Everybody there knows who you are."

"Really?" Andrea seemed flattered.

Jackie nodded, "Rachel thinks you're nice."

"D-do you think she was serious about coming to the bar one night?" Andrea asked nervously.

Jackie smiled in girly glee, "I think so. Maybe I can invite her over some time."

"Well, it's not so busy on Sunday's," Andrea said, scratching the back of his head in anxiousness.

"Maybe I'll tell her that," Jackie smiled giddily.

"That'd be great," Andrea said, smiling more than Jackie's ever seen him smile before.

"I'll do that then," Jackie smiled.

Well, she never thought the day would come when she'd be helping Andrea ask out a girl.

0-0-0-0-0

Jackie and Andrea walked out of the elevator and onto the third floor about fifteen minutes later. Jackie led Andrea down the hall to Eric's room. She stopped when she got there and peeked into his room. He was laid back in his bed, but sitting up slightly. His eyes were open and glued to the TV, but he still looked tired.

She softly knocked on the door to garner his attention, "Hey."

Eric smiled softly and blinked slowly, trying to keep his eyes open, "Hey Jackie… Andrea…"

"How're you feeling?" Jackie asked as she stopped next to his bed and grabbed his hand.

"Better than yesterday," Eric said quietly, his voice still a little raspy, "Even though I don't look it."

"Well, that's good," Jackie said, "Any idea when you'll be getting out of here?"

Eric shrugged, "Doctor said it could be a couple more days, but it definitely won't be tomorrow."

Jackie sighed, "It's so lonely in bed at night without you."

"Are you two always this… Annoyingly romantic?" Andrea suddenly spoke, seeming uncomfortable with the way they were talking to each other.

"Andrea, how's it going?" Eric suddenly asked, a smile on his face. He did seem a little better now than he did yesterday, he would barely even speak yesterday.

"I'm fine," Andrea said, "The children are concerned. They want you to come home."

"Tell them to hang in there," Eric said, "I'll be home in a few days… Hopefully."

"I hope so, too," Jackie said, rubbing her thumb across his knuckles.

Jackie and Andrea stayed in Eric's room for only about a half an hour, but decided they should go so Eric could get some rest. Jackie kissed him on the forehead as they left and told him she's see him the next day. Hopefully he'd be out soon, it was weird around the apartment without his loud mouth everyday.

So Andrea and Jackie bid the tired man farewell so they could get home and play with the kids for a while before it was time to go to bed.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N – Sorry for the long wait, I had a family matter that came up. Plus, I've started taking some of my classes before I start my new job. It's been a bit busy, to say the least. Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing, I always enjoy reading your reviews. TyeDyeJackson – Oh, the wretched man cold. Lol. Eric's doing much better in this chapter, don't worry.

On with the chapter.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

July 27, 1985

Eric got out of the hospital three days after Jackie visited him. When he came home, Jackie made him rest up so he didn't get sick again, and now, two weeks later, he was ready to party. It was David's birthday, his thirtieth birthday to be exact. The kids were being babysat by a good friend of Jackie's who worked at a local daycare and she told her she'd be more than happy to watch the kids for the weekend.

Jackie wasn't home at the moment, she was actually at her friend Rachel's apartment. She was helping her get ready for the party they were throwing for David, which the boys were setting up back at home. Jackie and Rachel were in her bathroom, having just finished up their makeup and hair. Rachel was getting a little irritated at her hair, she wanted it to be perfect.

"You look great, Rachel," Jackie assured her with a smile, "Andrea doesn't care what you look like."

"What? I'm not getting all dolled up for Andrea," Rachel tried, but Jackie knew she was lying.

"Oh, come on, you are!" Jackie beamed.

"I am not," Rachel defended, but she blushed a little.

"Are too," Jackie teased.

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Whatever. You're getting all done up just to impress Eric."

Jackie rolled her eyes and fixed her eye makeup as she looked in the mirror, "Please, it doesn't take much to impress Eric. I'm getting all dressed up because I want to."

"Yeah…" Rachel sighed. She had met Eric several times when he had come to pick up Jackie from work. He was always really nice and funny. He seemed pretty care free.

The girls spent just a little bit longer fixing their makeup and hair before they decided they should get going, it was nearly six o'clock, the party had probably already started.

"How do I look?" Rachel asked as she turned to Jackie.

"Beautiful," Jackie smiled, "Andrea is going to fall in love with you."

"You think?" Rachel asked, smiling sweetly.

"I knew it," Jackie said as she crossed her arms and shifted her weight onto one foot, giving Rachel a look.

Rachel rolled her eyes and grabbed Jackie's hand, "Come on, let's go."

"Yeah, you're right, it'd be a shame if you didn't get your make out session in tonight," Jackie teased and laughed as Rachel firmly told her to shut up.

0-0-0-0-0

Jackie and Rachel arrived at the apartment half an hour later. It was quite loud as they entered the apartment, a lot of people had turned up, mostly David's friends. Jackie smiled as she looked around, and then she felt Rachel's hand squeeze around her arm nervously. Rachel was always a little shy.

"You'll be fine," Jackie assured her, smiling at her.

"I don't know, there's a lot of people here," Rachel said anxiously, her voice low as she cowered behind Jackie.

"It's alright," Jackie said, "You'll do fine. You just got to go find somebody to talk to."

"Hey, about you?" Rachel asked, smiling sheepishly.

Jackie rolled her eyes, "Fine, but just for a little while."

"Thanks Jacks," Rachel beamed.

Jackie smiled, "C'mon, let's dance."

"I'm not a good dancer," Rachel still tried, "Why don't we go and get a drink? Maybe that'll loosen me up?"

"Okay, but only if you promise me you will go and talk to somebody tonight," Jackie said as she saw Ayrton approaching from over Rachel's shoulder.

"I promise," Rachel smiled.

"Hey guys," Ayrton said as he stopped next to Jackie and Rachel.

"Hey Ayrton," Jackie smiled, looking over at Rachel, "This is Rachel, a friend from work."

"Hi, nice to meet you," Ayrton smiled, shaking Rachel's hand.

"You too," Rachel smiled back. She wasn't so bad at socializing, it was just she didn't like crowds, and this place had quite a few people packed in it. It was making her a bit nervous.

Jackie looked around for a moment before she asked Ayrton, "Have you seen Eric?"

Ayrton nodded, "Yeah, he was talking to David and Maya last I saw. He is already a bit tipsy."

"Great," Jackie rolled her eyes, but she smiled.

"Want to dance?" Ayrton suddenly asked Jackie sweetly.

Jackie smiled up at him, "Sure."

"Wait, Jackie! What about me?" Rachel asked, grabbing Jackie's arm before she could get away.

Jackie stopped abruptly and looked around, looking for someone for her to talk to, "Um… Andrea!" Jackie grabbed his arm as he tried passing them, seemingly not noticing them standing there; she pulled him over to Rachel and smiled knowingly at the two, "Look, it's Rachel. Remember her?"

Andrea suddenly looked nervous and he nodded slowly, "Y-yes, I do."

"Good, you guys talk, I'm going to dance," Jackie smiled as she grabbed Ayrton's hand and allowed him to drag her onto the 'dance floor.'

As the two left their two nervous friends together and alone, Rachel sighed quietly, silently cursing Jackie for putting her in this situation. Rachel swallowed nervously and tried avoiding eyes with Andrea as she watched Ayrton and Jackie dance to some upbeat pop song.

Andrea looked down at Rachel and folded his hands and held them behind his back as he rocked slightly in anxiousness. He figured he should say something, "You look nice."

Rachel smiled sweetly at him and looked down at her outfit, "Thanks. So do you."

Andrea smiled, "Thanks."

"You don't like crowds too much either, huh?" Rachel asked, deciding she should probably start some conversation.

Andrea shook his head, maybe a little too much, and replied with, "No, not really… Is it that noticeable?"

"You're rocking back and forth," Rachel informed him.

"Oh," Andrea said, immediately halting his movements, now feeling a little too still, "Sorry. I just get nervous talking to pretty girls… Or any girl really… Or pretty much anyone ever."

Rachel giggled and then she noticed what he had just said and smiled softly up at him, "You think I'm pretty?"

Andrea's face turned bright red all of the sudden and stammered, looking for words to say, "I- uh, I-… Well…"

Rachel smiled and put a hand on his arm sweetly, "Do you, maybe… Want to dance?"

"Uh…" Andrea didn't know what to say. He scratched the back of his head nervously and shrugged, "I'm not really a good dancer…"

Rachel shrugged and grabbed his hand, "Me neither."

Rachel then pulled him out into the middle of the room where all the dancing party goers were, and even though they were both nervous, they each had a smile on their face.

Jackie smiled as she saw her two friends across the room awkwardly try and dance together as a slower song came on. That was so sweet, Jackie's glad she talked to Andrea about Rachel, or else he might still be oblivious to her crush on him.

"Ayrton, my main man!" Eric cried, a bit drunkenly, as he approached the teenager and Jackie.

Jackie looked over at Eric and smiled in amusement as his drunken stupor, "Eric, how many have you had?"

"That's not important," Eric hiccupped, "It's my turn to dance with you."

"I don't know," Jackie smiled as she titled her head towards Ayrton, "You might have to ask permission."

Eric then turned to look at Ayrton, "Can I dance with your daughter, Mr. Burkhart?"

Jackie rolled her eyes at Eric's sarcasm that was always on point as Ayrton dramatically sighed and loosened his grasp on Jackie, "Fine. But have her home by ten."

"Yes sir," Eric smiled as he took Jackie's hands in his as Ayrton slinked away to find another girl to dance with.

Eric gently put his hands on Jackie's hips as she placed hers on his shoulders and they began to gently sway to the soft music playing around them. Eric was drunk, but not so much that he was stumbling over himself, he was still slightly coherent, but he wasn't far from being a complete mess, which he would be within the hour. Jackie pulled Eric closer and rested her head on his shoulder as he tightened his arms around her. Jackie felt Eric lean his head against hers, making her smile a bit. Jackie looked across the dance floor at the other dancers; she stifled a giggle when she saw David dancing, with not Maya, his girlfriend, but with Ayrton. What dork's. Jackie then saw Rachel and Andrea dancing, both of them seeming awkward about it, but it somehow worked for them. They fit perfectly in each other's arms. Jackie smiled at them sweetly.

Eric and Jackie continued to dance slowly to the music, Jackie feeling like she could stay like this all night, she probably could to be honest. The song slowly faded after another minute and went into a different, more upbeat song. Jackie and Eric peeled apart as the chattering around them got louder.

"You look great, Jackie," Eric told her, smiling sweetly.

"Thank you, Eric," Jackie smiled and then teased, "Who knew you could dance?"

"If you think that's good, you should see my hip-hop style," Eric smiled smugly.

Jackie rolled her eyes, "You're a dork."

"Why thank you," Eric smiled in return.

The two then stayed together for the majority of the night, talking to friends, drinking, and eventually retiring to bed.

0-0-0-0-0

July 28, 1985

Jackie stumbled out of the bedroom at around eleven o'clock the next morning, wearing nothing but her underwear and one of Eric's t-shirts. She yawned as she stumbled into the kitchen, where Eric was sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee, shirtless and his hair disheveled.

"Good morning," Jackie said as she stretched her arms above her head.

"Morning," Eric grumbled sleepily, "How'd you sleep?"

"Good, thanks to you," Jackie winked with a smile.

Eric smiled at her and rolled his eyes, not buying it, "Whatever."

Jackie giggled and went to the coffee maker to get herself a fresh cup of coffee, "Kind of quiet this morning."

Eric nodded, "Everybody's still asleep."

Jackie fixed her cup of coffee and went to the fridge to get milk, and that's when they heard the door slam. Both her and Eric jerked their heads up and looked towards the kitchen entrance.

Eric just shrugged, "It's probably David. He might have went to Maya's place last night."

Jackie nodded as she closed the fridge and placed the milk carton on the counter, and then Andrea walked into the kitchen, surprisingly both Jackie and Eric.

"Andrea," Jackie said with a curious smile as she looked him up and down. He was a bit disheveled, which Jackie wasn't used to seeing. When she got up in the mornings, he had already been in the shower and everything. This was odd, "Where'd you head off to last night?"

"I just went out," Andrea shrugged calmly, "You know I don't like crowds."

"Hm," Jackie hummed with a knowing smile on her face as she sent Eric a look, "Where'd you sleep then?"

"At a friend's apartment," Andrea said, failing to see what she was hinting at, as usual.

"A friend's apartment, huh?" Jackie asked as she broke eye contact with the man and poured some milk into her coffee mug, "Who's your friend?"

"You don't know them," Andrea said, rather defensively now.

"Really?" Jackie asked, "I'm pretty sure I go to work with her."

Andrea suddenly blushed, finally catching what Jackie was trying to do. He saw Eric smile at him in amusement, "Uh…"

"So what'd you guys do last night?" Jackie asked in a teasing way.

"We just, uh… Watched some TV," He tried, avoiding the couple's gaze.

"I see," Jackie said, mixing her milk and coffee together, "So… You guys didn't sleep together?"

"What? No, why—why would you think that? That's… That's ridiculous…" Andrea was a horrible liar. Probably because he was generally brutally honest.

"I knew it," Jackie beamed as she turned to face Andrea finally.

"Damn it," Andrea cursed.

Eric was enjoying this entire exchange, he smiled at the both of them, resting his chin in his palm.

"So are you two together now?" Jackie asked, "Or was this just a one night thing?"

"I would never have sex with someone if we weren't going to be together," Andrea said, reverting to his honest state, though he was blushing madly, "We are going out Friday."

"Really?" Jackie asked, smiling.

"Yes," Andrea said, crossing his arms defensively.

"What's all this hype for this morning?" Ayrton asked as he entered the kitchen stretching, his eyes still full of sleep.

"There is no hype," Andrea tried, his eyes still on Jackie who wore a teasing smile, "Jackie's had too much caffeine, that's all."

Ayrton looked between Andrea and Jackie suspiciously, but he just shrugged and went to sit at the table with Eric. He's find out what was going on eventually.

Eric stretched his arms above his head and sighed sleepily before he stood, "Well, I'm going to go and get in the shower. As surprising as this may be to you guys, I'd rather not be around to watch Andy's crippling embarrassment anymore, so…"

Then Eric walked out of the kitchen, Ayrton giving him an odd look as he left, "What's he talking about? Why's Andrea embarrassed?"

"I'm not embarrassed," Andrea tried defending himself, really not wanting the whole world to know about what happened last night.

"Then why is your face so red?" Jackie asked with that same teasing smile.

"It's not!" Andrea cried, glaring at Jackie.

"Oh, it most definitely is!" Jackie called back.

Ayrton was getting confused, but this whole exchange was pretty funny, "Can somebody just tell me what's going on?"

"No!" Andrea cried at the same time Jackie cried, "Andrea got laid last night."

"What?!" Ayrton cried, trying to hold back his laughter as he beamed.

"Jackie!" Andrea cried, glaring at her, but he was now more embarrassed than before, "Why would you tell him that?!"

"Andrea, everyone was going to know eventually," Jackie shrugged, "It's kind of hard to keep secrets around here… Besides, you sort of deserved this."

"What? Why?" Andrea's face was burning up, Jackie almost felt bad for outing him.

"Don't you remember when me and Eric got together?" Jackie reminded him, "You guys all had money on when it would 'finally' happen."

Damn, she had him there.

"It's not that big of a deal, Andrea," Jackie assured him, setting her coffee down on the counter.

"Maybe not to you!" Andrea cried.

"What's wrong?" Jackie asked, trying to figure out why he was acting so upset about this.

"What if I… What if I did something wrong? What if she doesn't like me anymore?" Andrea asked.

Jackie was taken aback, "That's ridiculous, Andrea. Why would she dislike you? You're amazing."

"I-I don't know, this always happens when I'm with a girl. It's been like this since—" But he stopped himself there, not wanting Ayrton to find out about his last bad relationship.

"Rachel likes you, Andrea," Jackie reassured, "She's always going on about you at work. Since she met you, she can't stop thinking about you. I think that means she likes you."

Andrea shrugged, "I'm just nervous."

"You're always nervous," Ayrton remarked as he stood and stepped over to the coffee maker, making Jackie move out of his way.

"Why don't you call her?" Jackie asked.

Andrea shrugged, "I'm horrible over the phone, I wouldn't know what to say."

He was right about that, Jackie's had to call him before from work and he's absolutely terrible making conversation over the phone. He didn't know when it was his turn to speak. He wasn't good with social cues in person, so you could probably imagine why it was so bad over the phone.

"Alright, here's the deal," Jackie said, "Before I go pick the kids up later, I'll stop by her apartment and talk to her, how's that sound?"

Andrea seemed nervous about this, "You'd do that for me?"

Jackie smiled sweetly, "Of course. I'd do anything for you."

Andrea smiled at her as Ayrton wrapped an arm around Jackie's shoulders, "Awe, well aren't you two just adorable!"

Jackie and Andrea both rolled their eyes and Jackie firmly, but somewhat gently elbowed Ayrton in the gut.

0-0-0-0-0

Jackie knocked on Rachel's door several hours later, Eric having tagged along with her. He was wearing his sunglasses today because he said 'the sun hurt his eyes.' Probably because he drank so much last night.

"What time were we supposed to pick the kids up?" Jackie asked, trying to remember what time she told her friend Teri she'd be by.

"One or two, I can't remember," Eric replied, fiddling with his broken watch.

Jackie rolled her eyes at him, "Why do you still wear that?"

"Because it's shiny," Eric replied just as Rachel opened her door.

"Jackie," Rachel said, a little surprised, "What are you doing here?"

Jackie smiled at her friend and said, "Well, I… I have to talk to you about something."

Rachel furrowed her brow curiously, but invited Jackie and Eric in, "Well… Come in."

Eric and Jackie both stepped into Rachel's apartment and as soon as they entered, Eric was impressed, "Whoa… This place is sick."

"Thanks?" Rachel said, smiling a little.

"Cool TV," Eric said, looking over into her living room area. This apartment was smaller than theirs, but it was really nice.

"Yeah, my friend was getting rid of it, so I just thought I'd take it," Rachel said, shrugging slightly.

"Eric, could you let me and Rachel talk for a moment?" Jackie asked, "It'll just be a minute."

Eric nodded, "Yeah, sure. Where's your bathroom?"

"Just down that hall," Rachel asked, pointing to her left.

Eric nodded and went off towards that direction. Rachel then turned to Jackie, her brow furrowed as she asked, "So what's up?"

"Well, it's a bit awkward to bring up," Jackie said as her Rachel made their way over to the couch and sat down, "But uh… It's about last night."

"What about last night?" Rachel asked curiously, trying to figure out what Jackie was trying to say.

"Um… Did you have fun?" Jackie asked, beating around the bush.

"Yeah, it was great," Rachel said, but she was still frowning, a little confused, "What's all of this about?"

"Well… It's about you and Andrea," Jackie said, "I kind of know what happened last night."

Rachel's eyes widened now and she tensed up, "He told you?! Why would he do that?!"

Jackie shook her head, "No, he didn't tell me. I… I sort of got it out of him. He didn't do anything, I promise."

"Well, why are you so concerned about what happened between us?" Rachel asked, crossing her arms across her chest defensively.

"I'm not," Jackie informed her, "But Andrea is."

"Why?" Rachel asked, still holding up a defensive front.

"Well, I'm not going to tell you everything, I'll leave that up to him, but… He's just nervous," Jackie said.

"Nervous? To be with me?" Rachel asked, slumping her shoulders a little now and frowning.

Jackie shook her head, "No, not to be with you, he's nervous because… He's afraid you don't like him in the way he likes you."

"Well, how does he like me?" She asked curiously.

"He really likes you," Jackie smiled, "A lot."

Rachel now smiled softly and dropped her arms to her sides finally, "Oh. Well, I really like him, too."

Jackie smiled, "That's great."

"Why was he nervous that I wouldn't like him back?" Rachel asked now, curious.

"Well…" Jackie sighed, "I should have gone into this giving you a heads up or a warning."

"A warning? A warning for what?" Rachel asked, concerned now.

"Well, Andrea's a bit much to handle," Jackie said, "I'd know, I live with him."

"How so?" Rachel asked, her brow furrowed again in curious concern.

"He's got some… Problems. Problems not many really know about," Jackie said, "He's really sweet, and he's funny as hell, but you've got to be patient with him. He can be grumpy and stubborn. Really stubborn."

"Jackie, these just seem like regular character flaws," Rachel smiled, shrugging, "We all have them."

Jackie nodded, "Yeah, I know, but it's bit more than character flaws. He has some personal issues, family issues and… Some other relationship problems that I'm not going to tell you about. And he's got really bad anxiety. Like, really bad."

"How bad?" Rachel questioned, a little nervous now.

"Remember that time I came into work with those scratches on my face?" Jackie asked and Rachel nodded, "That was from him."

"Oh…" Rachel said, seeming a little shocked, but Jackie defended him.

"But he didn't do it on purpose, he'd never hurt anyone on purpose," Jackie defended, "He's protective. He's once beat up a guy who tried to hurt me."

"Really?" Rachel asked in surprise.

Jackie nodded with a smile, "Yeah… He's like a big brother to me. I wish he was my brother… I just came over here to talk to you about your guy's relationship, he would've done it, but… He was scared I think."

Rachel smiled sweetly, "He doesn't have to be scared. I like him a lot."

Jackie smiled back, "I'm glad."

The two girls sat in silence for a moment before Eric made his way back into the room, acting a bit odd.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked him, one eyebrow raised.

"Your toilet's scary," Eric said, looking over his shoulder and down the hall before he looked over at the girl's, "It tried to eat me."

Rachel laughed at that, probably because of how serious he seemed about it. Jackie just rolled her eyes.

"Are you ready to go, Jackie?" Eric asked, fiddling with his watch again.

Jackie nodded, "Yeah, come on."

She stood along with Rachel, who grabbed her arm and said, "Your boyfriend's weird, Jackie."

Jackie looked over at Eric and nodded, "Yeah, I know."

The two girls and Eric walked to the door and Rachel opened it for the couple, smiling at Jackie softly, "Thanks for telling me all of that, Jackie. I'm glad you did."

Jackie smiled and nodded, "No problem… I guess I'll see you at work tomorrow?"

"Yep," Rachel smiled with a nod, "I'll be seeing you."

"Alright, bye," Jackie waved to her friend before she closed the door.

Jackie sighed and frowned as Eric looked down at her in concern, "You alright?"

Jackie nodded, "Yeah. I just hope I didn't mess up Andrea's chances with Rachel."


	17. Chapter 17

A/N – Sorry, I was going to write yesterday, then I remembered it was Easter and I went to grandfather's house for dinner. This one starts off a little OC based, but the rest is Eric/Jackie related stuff. It's a fun little chapter, everyone's happy. Thanks for the reviews TieDyeJackson and Novakovic, I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter.

TieDyeJackson – I'm glad you like Andrea, at first I just put all the OC's in there for a little background action, but as the story went on I found myself developing them as character's, Andrea especially, since he's sort of complex. There's some more of him in this chapter with Rachel too, so I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

July 30, 1985

"Eric, would you quit being so annoying!" Jackie cried as she came out of their shared room, Eric following closely behind her.

"But Jackie, I'm bored!" Eric called after her as they went into the living room.

"What the hell is going on?" Andrea asked from where he sat on the couch, trying to watch TV, "I could hear you yelling at him from all the way out here."

"Eric is being annoying," Jackie snapped, "He keeps bugging me and I'm trying to work."

"I'm bored, all you ever do is work," Eric complained, giving her a pouty look.

"Eric, unlike you, most people have to work in the summer," Jackie reminded him, "If you're so bored, go out and do something."

"Yeah, and take the kids with you," Andrea suggested, trying to look around the two so he could see the TV, "All they ever do is complain anyway."

"See, there ye' go!" Jackie cried, throwing her hands up.

"But… I want Eric and Jackie time… And it's raining," Eric sighed sadly, holding his arms out as he gave her his best puppy dog look.

"Eric, you're cute and all, but you know I don't break that easily," Jackie teased, giving him her signature look.

"You could, just once, for me," Eric said, holding up one finger.

Jackie rolled her eyes and went to retort, but then there was a knock on the door. All three of them turned to look towards the door curiously. Who could be coming by at this hour? It's nearly six. They weren't expecting anybody, and the rain was coming down pretty hard outside.

"Who could that be?" Jackie asked as she furrowed her brow.

Eric just shrugged and Andrea kept looking around the two, trying to keep his mind occupied from the storm. The person on the other side of the door knocked again.

"I'll get it," Eric said as he finally stepped away from Jackie, figuring he wouldn't get anything out of her tonight.

He walked over to the door and looked out the peephole, then he raised an eyebrow before he opened the door to reveal Rachel.

"Hi Eric," She said, seeming a little nervous.

"Hey," Eric said, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see Andrea," Rachel said, straightening out her jacket that was slightly damp from the rain, "Is he in?"

"Yeah," Eric said, now a little nervous too. She hasn't called Andrea in two days, and she seemed a little off, he hoped she wasn't over here to tell him it wasn't going to work out between them, "Come in."

Rachel stepped into the apartment and Eric closed the door behind her, before he looked over his shoulder and called, "Andy!"

Andrea jerked his head up and looked at Jackie, seeming curious now, "Yes?!"

Then Eric walked around the corner with Rachel right behind him, walking a little slower, her facial expression nervous.

Andrea suddenly sat up, "Rachel… Hi, how are you?"

She smiled a weak smile and replied, "I'm fine, I just wanted to talk to you about something."

Eric and Jackie shared a nervous look and Jackie stepped over to Eric, grabbing his arm, "Well, we'll give you guys some space. Come on, Eric."

Jackie dragged Eric to their room and closed the door, but not all the way, they left it slightly ajar so they could hear what the two were saying. Jackie felt a little bad eavesdropping, but she was really curious.

Jackie peeked around the corner slightly, trying to see what was going on. She saw Rachel sit down next to Andrea and grab his hands gently.

"What's happening?" Eric asked quietly, not being able to see the scene unfold.

Jackie shrugged, "I don't know, but it doesn't look good."

"What is all of this about?" Andrea asked nervously. He wasn't good with social cues, but even he knew the 'we need to talk' line was never a good sign.

"Well, Jackie came by the other day to talk to me… About you," Rachel said, trying to look him in the eye. He was avoiding her gaze, instead looking to the side of her, like he did when talking with anyone.

"I know, I asked her to," Andrea informed her.

"I know," Rachel said, "She told me some things. About you… That are a little… Different."

"What kind of things?" Andrea asked, a furrow in his brow, anxiousness building up inside of him. One, because of this conversation and where it was headed, and two, because of the storm that seemed to be getting louder outside.

"Well… She told me you had problems. Family related problems, and relationship problems—"

"She told you about those things?!" Andrea cut her off, a tinge of anger in his voice.

Rachel flinched and then held up her hands, "No, no, no! She didn't tell me anything about them, like why you had the problems in the first place. She told me she'd let you tell me that… In your own time."

"Oh…" Andrea said, seeming a little embarrassed now.

"She also told me you had anxiety," Rachel said, "And it was kind of severe."

Andrea nodded, "I have had it since I was a little boy."

"She told me you got violent when you had an anxiety attack," Rachel said.

Andrea sighed and bowed his head, "Yes… Sometimes… But I do not mean to."

"I know," Rachel said, squeezing his hands.

"Are you going to break up with me now?" Andrea asked, still avoiding her eyes and sounding a little hurt.

Rachel was taken aback by this, "What? No, of course not."

Andrea jerked his head up now, "What? Then… Why did you come over here?"

Rachel smiled sweetly at him, "I just wanted to talk to you. I needed to talk to you about those things, I wanted to hear about them from you and… Not Jackie."

"I was going to tell you, but… I just get nervous," Andrea said.

"I know, she told me that, too," Rachel said.

"What's going on now?" Eric asked Jackie as they kept hidden behind the door.

Jackie shrugged, "I don't know. They both seem tense."

"Did she break up with him?" Eric asked.

Jackie shrugged, "I don't know… I don't think so."

"So… You do like me?" Andrea asked and Rachel squeezed his hands.

"Of course, I like you!" Rachel smiled now, "You're great, Andrea. You may be a little much sometimes, but… I can handle it. Nobody said relationships were supposed to be easy."

"Do you want to hear about my problems?" Andrea asked nervously.

Rachel shook her head, "Not right now. You don't have to tell me until you're ready."

Andrea smiled softly, "Thank you."

Rachel squeezed his hands again before she wrapped her arms around him, but he didn't hug her back, his arms got brought up to his chest and he just clenched his fists awkwardly, not really sure what to do.

"I do not really like hugs…" Andrea told her.

"I know, I've been told," Rachel said, but she didn't let him go, he almost didn't want her to.

"Jackie, I can't see anything," Eric said, trying to peek around, "What's going on?"

"They're hugging," Jackie replied, her eyebrow furrowed curiously.

"Is it a 'I love you and we're still together hug,' or a 'let's just be friends, but not really' hug?" Eric asked.

Jackie shrugged, "I don't know, all of Andrea's hugs are the same," Jackie answered, then she noticed the sweet smile on Rachel's face and she smiled a little bit hopefully, "I think they worked things out."

"Really?" Eric smiled, "Good. Andrea's actually seemed sort of happy these last few days since he's been with her."

"Alright, you two can stop your eavesdropping now," Rachel suddenly called, making both Eric and Jackie freeze.

They both looked at each other and then slowly opened the door and stepped out of the bedroom, coming into the living room as if they were two small children who just got tattled on.

Rachel and Andrea were both looking up at them, Rachel wore a smile on her face though, "Did you two hear what you wanted to hear?"

Eric shrugged, "We didn't really hear anything, the room's like… Soundproof or something."

"Are you two… You know… Still…" Jackie was nervous for some reason as she hinted at what she wanted to say.

Rachel nodded, "Yes, we're still together if that's what you're wondering."

Jackie smiled, "Good."

Rachel turned to Andrea again and said, "I'm sorry if all of this made you nervous. I didn't mean to be so… Concerning."

Andrea shrugged, "It is okay. Everything is fine now."

Rachel smiled, "Good," Then she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, making him blush a little since everyone in the room was watching.

"Well isn't that just the sweetest thing," Eric teased with a smile.

"Shut up," Andrea said, sort of glaring at him.

"Jackie," Eric said, wrapping his arm around Jackie's shoulders and pulling her into his side, mocking as if he were going to cry, "Our little boy's all grown up."

Jackie rolled her eyes and smacked Eric in the chest as she pulled out of his grasp and smiled. She looked back down at her two friends and smiled sweetly at them, "I'm glad you two worked things out. You seem to make each other pretty happy."

Rachel and Andrea both smiled at Jackie. Eric was still rubbing his chest from where Jackie smacked him and Jackie rolled her eyes at him before she said, "We'll leave you alone, I've got work to do and Eric needs to find himself a hobby, so…"

Rachel giggled at that as Jackie grabbed Eric's wrist and pulled him towards their bedroom, smiling at her friends before she disappeared from their sight.

0-0-0-0-0

August 3, 1986

The group decided to head to the beach the next weekend. It was the last month they really could before it started cooling down out, and it was a nice day, so they went. David and Maya didn't come, Maya got sick and David staying with her to make sure she was okay and to get her anything she needed.

It was just Eric, Jackie, Ayrton, Andrea, Rachel, and the kids.

"I think Leo's hungry," Eric said as he held the three year old in his arms, "He's getting kind of fussy."

"No, it's probably just the heat," Peyton said as she looked around the surprisingly not so crowded beach, "Let's go find a place to set up so we can get him out of the sun."

Eric, the kids, and Ayrton were by themselves right now, Andrea went with the girls to get the remaining things that were in the car. Of course, Jackie made Eric carry all the heavy stuff, even though he wasn't the strongest guy.

"Leo's starting to get a bit heavy to carry," Eric said as he adjusted the toddler on his hip.

"Yeah, I've noticed," Peyton said, seeming kind of sad about it as they made their way down the sand.

"Why do you have to get bigger?" Eric asked as he looked down at the boy, "You're so cute now. Please stop aging."

Peyton smiled up at Eric as he talked to the small child. The group slowly walked down the beach, looking for a good place to set up. It was actually quite warm out today, but the nice ocean breeze soothed the group a little bit.

"I'm surprised at the lack of people here," Eric said as he looked around the beach.

"I know right," Peyton said as they looked for a nice area to set up their stuff.

The two only walked for a minute before they stopped and set their bags down. Eric handed Leo to Ayrton so he could set up the large beach umbrella so Leo could sit under it, wouldn't want him getting sunburned. After Eric had the umbrella set up, Peyton put a blanket down for them to sit on.

After they set up everything, Peyton put Leo down on the blanket under the umbrella and that's when Jackie, Andrea, and Rachel came over.

"Sorry it took us so long," Jackie said as she stopped in front of them. She had on a red bikini with a pair of black board shorts, "Andrea tripped and hurt himself."

"Is he alright?" Eric asked, looking over to his friend as he sat down on the blanket next to Leo and Bruno.

"I'm fine," Andrea said, glaring at Eric as he sat back in the shade. Rachel sat down next to him and patted his knee reassuringly.

"You'll be fine," She smiled.

"I know," Andrea said as he looked over at the two children looking up at him, "What?"

"When you feel better, do you want to go play in the water?" Bruno asked, smiling hopefully.

Usually Andrea didn't like doing anything that required athletic ability, he wasn't the most coordinated guy on the planet. It took him by surprise though that Bruno asked him of all people to go and play, "Why not Eric?"

"Eric can come too," Bruno said as he smiled, "But I want you to play, too."

Andrea smiled, a little happy that the children wanted to include him in their activities, "Yeah, sure. Just let me rest for a minute."

"Great!" Bruno beamed, then he looked up at his sister, "Peyton, you want to play soccer with me?"

Peyton smiled, "Bring it on!"

The two children then got up and ran just several yards from where they were set up at and started kicking the ball around, the adults watching them happily.

0-0-0-0-0

"Goal!" Jackie cried as she 'scored' on Andrea's team, which consisted of himself, Ayrton, Bruno and Peyton, "The Champs win!"

"Lucky shot," Andrea said, looking a bit annoyed.

"Lucky? I think not!" Jackie beamed, "I'm the greatest there ever was!"

Peyton rolled her eyes, "Want to gloat a little more?"

Jackie smiled teasingly at the girl, "Jealous?"

"Hardly," Peyton said, though she was smiling back at Jackie.

Bruno gazed up at Andrea and lightly tapped him on the arm, "Don't worry, when your ankle's all healed up, we'll definitely win next time."

Andrea let a smile play across his lips as he gazed down at the boy, "Thanks."

Bruno smiled before he gazed over at Eric, "Eric, I'm thirsty."

"Me too," Eric replied, gesturing for the kids to follow him, "Come on, there's some water in the cooler."

"Did you bring any soda?" Bruno asked hopefully.

"Yes," Eric replied, "But you don't get any soda until later. It's too hot right now. So until it cools down, you get water."

Bruno smiled and grabbed the cold bottle from Eric's hand, "Thanks."

"Yep," Eric said as he handed water to everybody who asked for one.

After everyone got their water, everyone took a moment to rest and cool down. The three kids sat under the umbrella with Ayrton, and Andrea and Rachel sat on the blanket a few feet away from them.

"I'm glad we came out here today," Jackie told Eric as she tried to catch her breath.

"Me too," Eric smiled before he took a sip from his water, "It's nice getting out of the apartment every once in a while."

"Yeah, it gets kind of depressing all cooped up all the time," Jackie said as she turned to look at their friends, who looked to be having a good time themselves.

Jackie reached up and wiped some sweat off of her forehead and Eric raised an eyebrow and smiled, "You got into that game."

"Yeah, that was fun," Jackie smiled, "We should take the kids to the park more often, play out there. They had a good time."

"We'll have to do that some this fall," Eric said with a soft smile.

"You got into that game too," Jackie said as she suddenly noticed Eric's side was all scraped up.

"I'm okay," Eric said, swiping his hand downwards, "That'll be healed up in about a week."

"Eric!" Bruno suddenly called, garnering both Eric and Jackie's attention.

"Yeah bud?" Eric asked.

"Do you want to go play in the water?" Bruno asked as he stood, "Andrea said he's going to get in!"

"Really?" Jackie asked quietly to Eric, making him smile.

"Alright, one second," Eric replied before he looked down at Jackie, "If Andy's getting, I have to."

Jackie snickered, "I'm surprised he's actually going to do it. Andrea hates the water."

Eric and Jackie then moseyed over to the rest of the group, put their water bottles back in the cooler, and all of them headed down to the water.

Ayrton and the kids all got in first, of course, "Jesus, this water is cold!" Ayrton cried.

"It's not that bad," Bruno said, shrugging as he stepped into the water, though he visibly tensed up as he feet sunk into the wet sand, "All you got to do is go under and then it's fine. See."

Bruno stepped a little further into the water, it now coming up to his knees. The adults in the group were keeping a close eye on him, making sure he didn't go much further. Bruno sucked in a deep breath of air and then sat down in the water as a wave crashed up onto the beach, and not a moment later he was standing back up again, drenched from head to toe.

"See! Easy!" Bruno beamed as he wiped his eyes so he didn't get any salt water in them.

Ayrton shook his head, "I think I will stay right here, thank you."

"Oh no you don't," Peyton smiled as she grabbed one of Ayrton's arms and started pulling him into the water, "Help me out here, Bruno!"

Bruno beamed and ran up to Ayrton, grabbing his other arm and pulling him towards the water. Ayrton was smiling as he was slowly pulled into the water, the two children having a hard time pulling his weight, "No, it is cold!"

"If Bruno can do it, so can you!" Peyton smiled as they got him into the water up to his knees.

"Bruno is fearless! I, on the other hand, am not!" Ayrton cried.

Eric and Jackie were chuckling at the scene, Rachel having just come over to the water to join them. She smiled at the scene before them and looked over at Andrea who was doing the same thing as he held little Leo in his arms.

A moment later, Bruno had jumped onto Ayrton's back, which caused the teenager to lose balance, and fall forward into the water. He jumped up a moment later and spit out sea water, the two children laughing at him.

"Are you guys going to get in?" Rachel asked as she looked over at the smiling couple.

Jackie grabbed Eric's arm and smiled, "Yep, we're just not going to do that."

Rachel nodded, "Yeah, me neither. I'm only going until the water hits my knees."

"We're going to go a little further than that," Eric said, wrapping his arm around Jackie's shoulders.

Jackie frowned and looked up at Eric, "You're not going to throw me in, are you?"

"What? Me? Never!" Eric said sarcastically as he looked down at Jackie. Jackie tried getting out from under his arm, her feet already in the water, but she couldn't escape.

"Eric, I'm warning you," Jackie said as she glared up at her boyfriend.

"What? I'm not going to do anything," Eric tried, but he had that smile on his face. That mischievous smile that Jackie knew all too well.

"Eric," Jackie warned, trying to seem threatening, but there was amusement in her voice.

Eric stood there looking down at her for a second, then he suddenly lurched forward and swept her off her feet, carrying her bridal style. Jackie hardened her gaze further and grabbed onto Eric for dear life as he stepped further into the ocean water.

"Eric!" Jackie cried nervously, feeling the water underneath her. It was freezing.

Rachel was watching them, a big smile of amusement on her face, Andrea held a similar expression. Eric looked down at Jackie, she was shivering from the cold water, but her hard gaze never faltered.

"I'm not going to dunk you in the water, Jackie," Eric assured her, smiling smugly.

"Then why did you bring me all the way out here?" Jackie asked irritably.

"Oh yeah," Eric smiled, "I am going to dunk you."

Eric then threw Jackie just a few feet away from him, his upper body and face getting hit with the splash. Eric laughed after she hit the water and he smiled as she broke the surface, but she glared at him playfully, "I'm going to kill you!"

"You've got to catch me first," Eric smiled as he quickly began swimming towards the shore.

Jackie glared at him and began swimming after him, the rest of the group watching them with glee. Eric made his way to the shore, then he began running, trying to get a good distance away from Jackie, but he didn't get very far. Jackie was quick, he'd forgotten that. She quickly caught up to him and grabbed him around the middle. She wrapped her arms around him, but then she remembered he was stronger than her. Eric may be a skinny guy, but he had some hidden strength.

"What're you going to do now, huh?" Eric teased, as he tried getting Jackie off of him, but she had some hidden strength to her as well.

"This!" Jackie then jumped onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck, maybe this would weigh him down.

Eric was trying to get away, but in the end he ultimately failed and they both went crashing to the ground. Before they fell, Jackie jumped off of his back and somehow ended up landing on top of him. He gazed up at her, amusement, but a tiny hint of fear was in his hazel colored eyes.

"Now what?" Eric asked curiously.

Jackie didn't know. What would she do? Jackie looked to her right and had an idea. She grabbed a handful of sand and rubbed it into his hair, smiling deviously as she did so. After that, she looked him in the eyes again and said, "Have fun getting that out."

Jackie then got up off of him. Damn. When Eric was little he went to the beach on a family vacation and got sand in his hair there. It took him a month to get every last bit of it out. Eric got up a moment after Jackie did and shook his hair out as he stood, trying to get as much sand out of it as possible.

I guess you sort of deserved this. Eric thought to himself.

"There, now we're even," Jackie said smugly, crossing her arms over her middle.

"Fine. We're even," Eric said in return, though he smiled at her.

"Alright," Jackie said, "Now come on, let's get back to the family. Wouldn't want to leave them unattended for too long."

Eric nodded in agreement and followed her back to the shore, picking little pieces of sand out of his hair as he went.

0-0-0-0-0

"Truth or dare… Rachel," Jackie said as she gazed at her friend. The sun was going down at this point, Ayrton was keeping an eye on the kids and helping them build a sandcastle down by the shore as the group of friends sitting up the towel kept an eye on all of them from afar.

"Truth," Rachel smiled, patiently awaiting her question.

"Alright," Jackie smiled, "Is it true that you took your top off at Georgie's bridal shower?"

Andrea's eyes widened as he looked to his girlfriend, Eric and Jackie smiling in amusement. Rachel rolled her eyes, but kept her smile on her face, "Yes, it's true."

"Really?" Andrea asked, a little surprised.

"Yeah," Rachel smiled, looking over at him.

"Oh," Andrea said, looking away, "I can't really picture you doing something like that."

"Why not?" Rachel asked curiously.

Andrea was a little embarrassed now, he was also afraid he'd upset her, "W-well, you just seem kind of shy, is all… I-I just can't imagine it…"

Rachel rolled her eyes and smiled at him, "I was drunk, that's why I did it."

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, grabbing his hand. Andrea smiled at her, his face still pink. Jackie and Eric both tilted their heads, Jackie clasping her hands in front of her in a sarcastic manner as they both said, "Awe…"

Rachel rolled her eyes at the two as Andrea glared at them, "Shut up."

Eric and Jackie laughed at that and Eric took a drink from his beer as Rachel looked around at the four and said, "Alright, truth or dare, Eric."

Eric set his drink down and cleared his throat, "Dare."

She smiled mischievously, "I dare you to kiss the most beautiful person in this circle."

Eric rolled his eyes, "Oh come on, that's easy."

The two girls in the group smiled as Eric sat up and did something completely unexpected, but not totally out of his character. He leaned forward, grabbed Andrea's face to make him look at him, before he planted a big kiss on his lips.

The two girls laughed as Eric pulled away and Andrea started spitting into the sand beside him, wiping his mouth. Eric nonchalantly took another sip from his beer and looked to Jackie, "Jackie, truth or dare?"

The girls laughed again at how nonchalant Eric was being, as if it didn't faze him what he just did. It probably didn't, Eric did things like this just to get a laugh out of people.

"Why did you do that?!" Andrea exclaimed, wiping his mouth and spitting again.

Eric just shrugged, "She told me to kiss the most beautiful person in the room."

Andrea sort of glared at Eric, "Well… Did you have to use your tongue?!"

The girls were laughing hysterically now, Eric was smiling, and Andrea was annoyed, but a smile started to form.

"You're an idiot," He said to Eric, a small smile finally gracing his lips.

"Thank you, my good sir," Eric smiled, raising his drink.

The group played truth or dare for a little longer. Andrea wasn't drinking, since he was driving his car home, and Eric had only had one beer, because he was driving himself, Jackie, and the kid's home. After about a half an hour, Rachel and Andrea decided they'd go check on the kids and try to get them to get ready so they could get home, the sun was nearly down at this point.

"I had fun today," Jackie said as she finished her beer.

"Me too," Eric smiled as he set his empty beer bottle in the sand next to him.

"We should do this next summer," Jackie suggested.

Eric shrugged, "Maybe we could come for Spring Break."

"It'll be loaded here at Spring Break," Jackie reminded him.

Eric nodded in agreement, "Then we'll come the week after Spring Break. Just the two of us."

Jackie smiled as she gazed up at him, her hazel eyes sparkling in the moonlight, "We should."

Eric smiled down at her, looking into her pretty eyes. She was remarkable, "You're beautiful."

Jackie smiled sweetly, "Thank you."

"I can't believe you chose me," Eric said, slumping his shoulders, but he held a smile on his face, "Over all those other guys out there."

Jackie frowned and furrowed her brow, "What do you mean?"

Eric shrugged, "Well, you know… All those guys back in high school that you dated… The guys you dated when you were still doing that TV show… They were all super tall, super buff, and super good looking. I'm just… Mediocre."

Jackie frowned harder, "You don't really think all of that, do you?"

"I'm a scrawny Star Wars nerd with a lazy eye," Eric explained as he then gestured to Jackie, "And you're just… Perfect."

"Eric, you're sweet and all, but…" Jackie sighed and shook her head, "Sometimes you can be a bit of a dumbass."

Eric raised an eyebrow, "What?"

Jackie rolled her eyes, "Eric, I love you. There's nobody else I'd rather be with. I don't care about your looks, even though you are very handsome. I like you because you're nice and you have a big heart, AND you can make me laugh until my stomach hurts."

Eric smiled, "Thanks Jackie."

Jackie smiled up at him and grabbed his hand in hers as she leaned forward and kissed him. It was sweet and only lasted a second, but it made Eric happy.

"Come on," Jackie said as she stood and pulled Eric up with her, "Let's go help those two round up the kids."

Eric smiled and followed Jackie down to the shore, the ocean breeze making the two shiver now that the sun has gone down.

"Did you really use tongue on Andrea?" Jackie asked with a curious smile.

Eric nodded, "Yep. He's not a bad kisser, actually."

Jackie laughed at that as they continued down to the shore.

0-0-0-0-0

"And… That's the last of it," Eric said as he closed the trunk after placing the blanket in the trunk, but he held a clean one in his hands.

He turned to his friends who all looked very tired. Leo was asleep and Bruno was nearly there, Leo in Ayrton's arms and Bruno in Andrea's.

"Alright kids, come on, let's get you all fastened up," Eric said as he opened the door for them.

Peyton got in first, scooting all the way to the window on the other side of the car, yawning after she fastened her seatbelt.

"Thanks for taking us to the beach, Eric," Bruno said as Andrea set him on his feet, "Can we come again next weekend?"

Eric scratched the back of his head, a little bit of that sand Jackie mixed up earlier falling out, "Maybe not next weekend, buddy. It's quite a drive. I'll bring you again soon, though. I promise."

"Okay," Bruno smiled sleepily before he turned to Andrea, "Did you like the water?"

Andrea curiously looked down at the boy and replied, "Uh… Yes, it was… Interesting to say the least."

"Good," Bruno smiled before he hugged Andrea, "Thanks for playing with me today, I like it when you play with us."

Andrea was a little taken off guard. He didn't realize these kids cared so much about him. Andrea awkwardly returned the hug, patting the boy on the back gently, "No problem."

Bruno then pulled away, everyone smiling down at him sweetly as he waved at Andrea, "See you when we get home, Uncle Andrea."

Then the boy turned and got into the car to sit next to his older sister, who was already dozing off. Everyone was now smiling at Andrea as he gazed at Eric's car, then he turned to look at Eric and Jackie, "Did he just call me…"

Eric smiled at the man and patted him on the arm in a friendly manner, "Welcome to the family, Andy."

Ayrton then handed Leo to Eric so he could buckle him up in the back seat as Jackie looked up at Andrea, "We'll see you when we get home."

Andrea nodded, a faint smile on his lips as Eric closed the door to the back seat and then turned to Jackie, "You ready."

Jackie smiled and nodded, "Yeah," Then she turned to Rachel and asked, "Are you going to stay the night at our place?"

Rachel looked up at Andrea, "Yeah, if that's okay with Andrea."

He smiled down at her, "Of course, it's okay."

Rachel smiled and grabbed his hand, "I guess I'll see when we get there, then."

Jackie smiled and waved her friends goodbye before she got into the car with Eric. Andrea, Rachel, and Ayrton all went to Andrea's car and got in as Eric started up his. Then, they were all on the road home.

They drove for only ten minutes and all three kids were asleep.

"They had a big day," Jackie observed as she looked over her shoulder at the three sleeping kids.

"Yeah," Eric smiled as he looked at them through the rearview mirror, "They had fun."

Jackie smiled before she turned to look at Eric, "Has Bruno called you dad yet?"

Eric raised an eyebrow and smiled, "No, why?"

"He asked me the other day if he could call us mom and dad," Jackie said, "We are practically raising them now, so, I mean…"

Eric smiled, "Well… Maybe he's nervous to call me that. Maybe he doesn't know how I'll react."

"Would you let him call you that?" Jackie asked curiously.

Eric thought for a moment and then he nodded, "Yeah, I wouldn't mind that… I mean, Leo will grow up thinking we're his parents. He's only three, he probably won't even remember his real parents."

"That's kind of sad," Jackie said, frowning.

Eric, seeing Jackie frowning now, asked her, "Have you had any many dreams about us?"

Jackie looked over at Eric and smiled, "A couple."

"Do we have a family in these dreams?" Eric asked.

"Yes," Jackie smiled sweetly at him, "Is it weird that… That I've thought of names for our future children?"

Eric beamed, "No, that's perfectly normal… What kind of names do you have in mind?"

"Well… I like Mary for a girl," Jackie said through a smile, "And for a boy… James. We'd call him Jim for short."

Eric smiled and nodded, "I like them."

"Thank you," Jackie smiled and then asked, "What about you? Do you have any names thought up?"

"Well…" Eric said, thinking for a moment, "I've always kind of liked Stella for a girl. And for a boy, let me think… Nikolas. But with a K in the middle instead of a C-H. And, we'd call him Niko or Niki for short, not Nick, that's too plain."

"Niki," Jackie said, testing the way it sounded, "I kind of like it. I had a dream one time where we had a kid named Nikolas."

"With a K?" Eric asked jokingly.

"Actually, yes," Jackie responded, and it sort of surprised him.

"Wow, really?" Eric asked.

Jackie nodded, "Yeah, and I think I remember calling him Niki."

Eric's eyes widened and he smiled, "That's crazy."

"That names definitely on the table," Jackie told him, and it made him smile.

"Really?" Eric asked.

Jackie nodded, "Yep. Most definitely."

Eric beamed like a small child would after counting their Halloween candy. Jackie smiled at him for a moment more before she looked out the window. She couldn't believe she was just talking to him about their future children. She couldn't believe he has thought about too. She couldn't believe she already had a set name for their first born son.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N - Hello people, I hope you guys are ready for drama, because the next few chapters are going to be loaded with it. Thanks for the reviews, I always love reading them. TieDyeJackson - If Eric and Jackie ever have a kid in this story, it'll probably be just one. They do already have their hands full though, lol. Novakovic - You'll probably be seeing some of the old gang in the next couple of chapter's because of what happens in this one.

I hope you guys are ready, shit's starting to get real. I'll probably upload another chapter later today, I hope I can anyway, I'm feeling creative. I hope you guys enjoy.

Disclaimer - Read the first chapter's.

August 24, 1985

It was the last weekend before school started back up. The group had spent the whole day with the kids, letting them spend their last free weekend having fun, and by eight o'clock that night, the kids were ready for bed.

Eric had helped Jackie get the kids to bed and then he, David, and Andrea decided they'd go down to the bar down the street. Andrea took the night off to have a little fun for once, Eric talked him into it. Jackie stayed at the apartment to 'get ready' with Rachel.

It only took them a little while to get ready, all they really did was change and fix their messy makeup. Running around the park with the kids all day really messed up your appearance.

"So…" Rachel said as she finished up the final touches on her mascara.

Jackie looked over at her with a curious furrow in her brow, "So…?"

Rachel smiled and peered over at her friend, "You and Eric are getting pretty serious, huh?"

Jackie smiled and shrugged, looking down at her makeup box, "Yeah, I guess we are."

"You guys have been together for how long now?" Rachel asked.

"Just six months," Jackie said, shrugging, "It feels like forever, though."

"Well, you have known him forever, so, that would make sense," Rachel snickered as she fixed her eye makeup.

"Since we were kids," Jackie replied.

"Did you ever have a crush on him when you were younger?" Rachel asked curiously, not really knowing that much about Jackie's childhood and teenage years.

Jackie shook her head, "No, when I was a teenager I was sort of disgusted by him."

Rachel gave Jackie an odd look, "What? Why?"

Jackie shrugged, "I don't know, I think I just kind of pretended to be grossed out by him… I was popular in high school, and associating yourself with a geek was strictly off limits."

"But you did associate with him," Rachel reminded her with a smile.

Jackie nodded, "Yeah, I know, but I always had an excuse for doing so. I dated Michael and he was Eric's friend, so that was excuse to hang out with him. And then I dated Steven, and that was an excuse to hang out with him."

"I'm guessing Michael and Steven weren't geeks?" Rachel asked.

Jackie shook her head again, "No. Michael was tall and handsome and all the girls liked him. Steven was… Well, he wasn't popular, but he was sort of mysterious, you know? Some of the girls had a thing for him."

"But Eric was a dork?" Rachel more so stated than asked.

Jackie nodded, "Yeah. He was, or is. Back then I had my 'reputation' to look after, back when that was the only thing that mattered to me, but now… Now I guess I actually see Eric for who he is. He's a dork, yes, but he's more than that."

Rachel smiled at the way Jackie was gushing over Eric, then she thought of something, "Do you guys have anything in common? I mean, from what I've seen, you guys are pretty different."

"Well…" Jackie thought for a moment, "It's not about what we have in common, it's more about what we can bring into each other's lives, you know?"

"What has he brought into your life?" Rachel asked with a teasing smile.

Jackie smiled back at her, "Happiness… I mean, before I went back to school and moved here, I was sort of depressed. I didn't have any friends that really cared about me, I didn't enjoy my job, any boyfriend I did have was just for the press to run with. After I met back with Eric, everything sort of changed. We came here and I met all of you wonderful people. I have more now that I thought would ever be possible. I'm really happy here."

Rachel smiled, "That's really sweet. I'm glad I met you, too."

Jackie smiled, "Yeah, because now you have your sexy Italian Stallion."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "I knew this would somehow come back to me… And don't call him that, only I can call him that."

Jackie laughed and looked back to the mirror, inspecting herself to make sure everything looked good, "I don't think Andrea would be happy if anyone called him that."

Rachel nodded, "You're probably right. He'd probably tell me to go rinse my mouth out with soap."

Jackie giggled, "Sounds like something he would say."

Rachel giggled as well and finally put her makeup down before she turned to Jackie, "How do I look?"

Jackie smiled at her and nodded in approval, "Perfect."

Rachel smiled and put her makeup back in its bag before she said, "Alright then, let's get a move on."

0-0-0-0-0

Jackie and Rachel were getting pretty close to the club now, having been walking for about ten minutes. Eric was probably already drunk, he sucked down drinks like you wouldn't believe. It was nice night, Jackie felt at peace. Ayrton had stayed home with the kids since he wasn't old enough to get into this club.

"This place looks pretty packed," Jackie said as the girls stopped in front of the club, loud dance music blaring.

"This is where they said they'd be," Rachel said, shrugging as she looked up at the place.

"Andrea's probably having a blast," Jackie smiled.

Rachel scoffed, "Yeah, right."

"Come on, let's go see if we can find them," Jackie said, grabbing Rachel's arm.

The two of them pushed into the club, the loud music quickly assaulting their ears. The two of them pushed through the crowd of dancing young people, all of the couples grinding up on each other, it was sort of making Jackie uncomfortable just walking past them.

"I think I see David," Rachel stated a minute or two after trying to get through the crowd.

Jackie tried peering past all of the people, but she was too small to peek over them or around them, "I don't."

Rachel rolled her eyes and grabbed Jackie's arm, pulling her over to the side out of the way of most of the crowd, but there was a couple making out behind them.

"Over there," Rachel pointed.

Jackie looked over, peering around several people to see her friend. Rachel looked over to see if she could see any of their other friends and then her eyes widened when she spotted what was happening over there and her eyes immediately flicked over to Jackie.

Jackie tensed when she what was happening. Over to where David was, with Andrea, she saw Eric sitting down on a bench and on top of him was a woman, and she was kissing him like mad. She was all over him. Jackie didn't know what to feel. She was upset, confused, and above all else, angry. She didn't know what to do, but she felt the tears sting her eyes as she connected eyes with Andrea. He froze and looked like he wanted to say something, but he stayed silent.

Jackie quickly turned around and rushed towards the exit, Rachel turning to look at her, "Jackie!"

She looked towards the door and then felt a hand grab her arm and she turned and saw Andrea looking down at her, "Go talk to Eric, I will go get her."

"What the hell is going on?" Rachel asked, a little angry herself now.

"There is no time," Andrea rushed, "Just go. I will talk to you later."

Then Andrea went after Jackie, leaving Rachel standing there extremely confused and angry. Andrea rushed to the door, trying to get past all of the annoying drunk couples. He got outside after moment, relieved to be out of that stuffy crowd and he turned and looked around, trying to find Jackie. He spotted her quickly walking down the street, wiping tears from her eyes and face.

"Jackie!" Andrea called as he dashed down the street after her.

"What?!" Jackie snapped, whipping around and glaring at Andrea.

"Just… Hang on a second," Andrea said as he stopped in front of her, "I can explain what happened in there."

"He was making out with another woman," Jackie snapped, her voice shaking with a thousand different emotions.

"Well, yes, but—" He was cut off by Jackie though, and she was not going easy on him or anybody for that matter.

"He's an asshole!" Jackie snapped as tears continued to fall down her face, "I thought he loved me! I guess I was wrong! Why would he do this?!"

"Jackie—" She cut him off again.

"This has happened to me so many times now!" Jackie snapped, her angry expression faltering and being replaced with a heartbroken one, "Every guy I've dated seriously has cheated on me! I don't deserve this do I?!"

"What? No, of course not," Andrea tried to comfort her, but he was never good at this emotional stuff.

"I don't want to ever want to see him again," Jackie sobbed, trying to hide her face, "I don't even want to hear his voice. I-I… I can't…"

Jackie broke down then and started sobbing. Andrea didn't know what to do, should he hug her? He gently put his hands on her arms, his arms a little stiff. He didn't like this. He patted her arms a few times, not really wanting to do this, but he figured he could suck it up for a few minutes to comfort her, maybe it would make her feel better?

Andrea very lightly wrapped his arms around her, which would have surprised Jackie if she wasn't so upset. She quickly wrapped her arms around his middle and sobbed into his chest, feeling as if it were the only thing she could do right now. Andrea slowly and awkwardly rubbed her back, trying to make her feel better, but he wasn't sure it was working.

"It is okay," Andrea said, patting her back gently now.

Jackie shook her head, "I loved him…"

"You still do," Andrea reminded her, "If you just let him explain—"

"Jackie!" Eric suddenly cried, running down the street towards her.

Jackie tensed and quickly pulled away from Andrea, all of her anger coming back and she focused all into the glare she sent towards Eric. If looks could kill…

"Go away," Jackie snapped, not even bothering to wipe the tears from her face.

"Jackie, listen—"

"I don't want to hear it," Jackie spat, focusing all of her anger on him.

"Please, just let me explain," Eric pleaded, a look of desperation on his face.

"Please, Eric…" Jackie was trying so hard to keep her angry look present, "Just… Leave me alone."

"Jackie—"

"There's nothing you can say, Eric," Jackie snapped, "You were making out with another woman."

Eric was silent, he wanted to explain, but he knew she wouldn't believe him, not right now especially, with all of her anger.

Now Jackie seemed upset with his silence. She didn't know if she wanted to hear his excuses or not.

"Now you don't want to even try?!" Jackie asked incredulously.

"Well, do you or don't you want me to?! Make up your mind!" Eric cried, sending a sort of glare at her.

Jackie doesn't know what came over her in that moment, but it just happened. She reeled her arm back and then shot it forward, hitting Eric hard across the face, so hard he stumbled. Eric winced and put a hand to his face as stumbled a few steps back from her. That was a hard hit, it stung really bad, so bad he could feel the tears pricking at his eyes.

He glared at Jackie, but it was mixed with a look of shock and confusion, "Jackie..."

Jackie shook her head, her fists clenched as she glared at him, tears rolling again, "I'm staying with Rachel tonight, so don't expect me home later."

Eric looked at her, trying to keep himself grounded, "Jackie, just let me explain."

Jackie shook her head, biting her lip hard, trying to keep the tears from falling, but it was working very well. She watched as Eric rubbed her sore cheek, his face red with the force she hit him with. She kind of felt bad, but she also didn't, "Fuck off, Eric, if you know what's best for you."

Eric felt a little angry himself now, she could at least let him explain, there was at least a decent explanation behind all of this. She still wouldn't forgive him most likely, but she could at least hear him out.

"You could at least let me explain!" Eric snapped, glaring at her now, but not with as much anger as she was.

Jackie clenched her fists and shook her head again, not even wanting to look at him anymore, "Maybe tomorrow, but right now, I just want to be alone," Jackie kept her voice calm when she spoke that time, then she turned and stormed off down the street by herself.

Eric rubbed a hand down his face, trying to calm himself down before he stepped over to Andrea and reached into his pocket.

"What are you doing?" Andrea asked in alarm, looking down at Eric's hands as he pulled out the keys to his car.

"I'm going for a drive," Eric snapped, storming towards his car parked a few yards away.

"But, you are drunk," Andrea called after him, "I will drive you!"

"I just want to be alone for a while, Andrea," Eric said, and that was probably one of the only times he's ever called him by his actual name.

"But, Eric—" But he was too late, Eric got into his car and quickly turned it on before he drove out onto the road.

0-0-0-0-0

Jackie went back to the apartment to get some of her things to bring to Rachel's place, the tears were still rolling, but she was still angry. She roughly shoved her things into a bag, trying to be quick about it. She didn't want Eric coming in right now, she didn't want to fight right now.

"Jackie?" She heard from behind her. She turned to look over her shoulder and saw Ayrton looking in on her, looking a little tired.

Jackie turned back to her bag and shook her head, "Not now, Ayrton."

"What is wrong?" Ayrton asked with a frown as he remained in the doorway, "What happened?"

"It's nothing, just leave me alone," Jackie snapped, throwing a t-shirt into her bag.

"Jackie," Ayrton said again as he finally stepped into the room, but just a little, "Just tell me, maybe I can help?"

Jackie shook her head, "I don't think so."

Ayrton stepped over to her, a curious and worried look in his eyes and on his face. He looked down at her as he stopped next to her, and she looked up at him. When she saw his look of concern, she sighed and dropped her head.

"I caught Eric kissing another woman," Jackie said sadly, trying to keep herself composed this time.

"Oh…" Ayrton said. What did he say to something like that? "Well… Maybe there is a reason for that?"

Jackie scoffed, "Why does everybody keep telling me that?"

Ayrton shrugged and tried to get her to look at him, "Maybe because there is a reason behind it. I do not see Eric as a cheater. He would never do something like that to you."

"Well, he did," Jackie said, grabbing one more t-shirt and shoving it in the bag.

"Maybe, maybe not," Ayrton shrugged, "It would never hurt to listen."

"Is anybody on my side?" Jackie asked, glaring up at Ayrton now.

"I am!" Ayrton defended, holding his hands up in front of him, "But I know when I get into a fight with somebody, I like to hear what they have to say before I make a decision if I should forgive them or not."

Jackie nodded and looked down at her bag, "I know… I'll listen to him some other time, I just don't want to see him right now."

Ayrton nodded, "That is completely understandable… Are you going to be alright?"

Jackie nodded, "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm going to stay with Rachel for a few days, I'll be back by the weekend."

Ayrton nodded in understanding before he asked, "Do you want a hug?"

Jackie sighed and stopped what she was doing before she looked up at Ayrton and smiled just slightly, "That'd be nice."

Ayrton smiled sweetly at her and held his arms open for her before she wrapped her arms around his middle and rested her head on his chest, trying to compose herself. Ayrton held her close, trying to offer his comfort, and praying that Eric had a reasonable explanation for all of this.

0-0-0-0-0

Eric chugged the rest of what was in his drink before he tossed it out his car window and wiped his mouth of alcohol residue. His vision was a little wonky, and he felt a little dizzy, but from what he felt, he still had control over the car. He looked ahead out of his windshield and saw a drunk group of friends stumbling down the street and he frowned. They all looked happy. That could have been him and his friends tonight if he hadn't of screwed everything up with Jackie.

He really fucked up this time. He was always doing stuff like this, he knew there would eventually be something that would mess up his chances with Jackie, and it finally came. He wished David wasn't such an idiot to dare him to kiss that woman, and he wished he wasn't such an idiot for taking him up on that dare. It was just a hundred dollars, was that really worth all of this? Jackie would never forgive him, she probably hated him.

Eric was starting to feel sick, he could feel the cold sweat on his forehead. He looked in his rearview mirror and then he looked back to the road in front of him, and for some reason when he did that he got really dizzy. He furrowed his brow and tried to concentrate on the road, but he weaved, and even though he was going just forty miles an hour, when he swerved he hit something on the side of the road, and he didn't know what it was, but it must have been pretty big, because his car didn't take it very well.

It jolted and it was now that Eric realized he wasn't wearing his seatbelt, because when he hit whatever it was on the curb, his car jolted and came to a violent stop and Eric felt himself leave his seat and what he felt next was just pain.

A moment later Eric realized he was on the sidewalk, pain shooting through his whole body and he covered his head as he saw glass falling down upon him. Eric tried to breath, but he felt like he couldn't, it hurt too much. Eric looked around, he could've swore he heard somebody yelling.

He turned his head to his left, trying to see where he was exactly, but instead he came face to face with a person who looked to be about his age, actually, there were several people.

"Oh God, are you okay?!" The person asked, looking him up and down, "You came right through the windshield!"

Eric tried to speak, but he was still having trouble breathing and he felt like he was going to pass out, he was feeling lightheaded as hell.

"Jesus Christ, you're all fucked up," Said one of the women with the guy, "Your head's bleedin'."

Eric's eyes were getting heavy, he was going out like a light in just a minute.

"Henry, call 911," The girl ordered to one of her friends behind her, Eric could feel her gentle hands on his arm.

"I already am," The other guy who Eric couldn't see informed her.

"Yer goin' ta be okay," She assured him, giving him a warm, slightly nervous smile.

Eric tried to swallow, but he choked a little when he did, causing the girl to tighten her grip on his arm, but he was okay.

"Is there someone ye' want me ta call? My friend's got a cell phone," She said, looking behind her.

Eric nodded, and tried to speak, "2-2…" He stopped for a minute and bravely sucked in a gasp of air, that was really painful to do, and then he said, "212-894-944…"

The man with the cell phone quickly dialed that number and let it ring as Eric tried to keep his eyes open.

0-0-0-0-0

Andrea walked in the door not long after Eric drove off in his car, when he walked in and slammed the door behind him, it garnered Ayrton and Jackie's attention. They walked out of the bedroom and peered into the living room where Andrea was rushing to the kitchen, Rachel following closely behind him and David looking a bit anxious.

"Guys?" Jackie said, stepping out of the room and into the living room, her voice still weak from crying.

David looked over at her and gave her a sad look, but he didn't say anything. Jackie furrowed her brow and stepped forward, "What's wrong?"

"Uh, well—" David started, but Andrea quickly cut him off as he walked out of the kitchen, Rachel behind him, his keys now in his hand.

"Eric drove off," Andrea told her, "He was drunk and he was going pretty fast."

Jackie was hit with a pang of worry now, "What?"

"I am going to try and find him," Andrea said, going towards the door, "You guys stay here."

Just as Andrea was about to grab the doorknob, the phone rang. Everybody froze and looked at each other and Rachel quickly made her way to the kitchen, the others staying by the door anxiously. They waited a moment for Rachel to answer the phone, they could barely hear her voice, but from what they could, she sounded worried. Jackie, Andrea, Ayrton, and David all shared a concerned look and Rachel suddenly dashed out of the kitchen and into the living room.

Jackie noticed her solemn expression and said, "Rachel?"

"It's Eric," She said quietly, looking up at Jackie's eyes, "He's been in an accident."

"What?!" Jackie cried, stepping towards her friend, her whole body tensing up, "I-is he okay? What happened?"

Rachel shrugged her shoulders lightly and shook her head, "I don't know, she didn't tell me much. She just told me where they were and that they had called an ambulance."

Andrea finally opened the door, "Well, come on then. Let's go."


	19. Chapter 19

A/N – Sorry, I was going to get this chapter up yesterday, but it ended up being a lot longer than I thought it was going to be. I hope you guys like it, the story's got a few more chapters left. I've got some idea for more stories though, so don't worry. Thanks for the reviews and enjoy.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

The group pushed their way into the hospital not even fifteen minutes later. Jackie, Andrea, and David looked around the room they were standing in and saw how frantic the nurses, doctors, and staff were acting. Jackie furrowed her brow and looked around, searching for someone to talk to, someone who didn't look as busy as the others.

Jackie quickly approached a nurse who was getting some papers together and frantically asked her, "Did you bring a man who was in a car accident in here recently? His name's Eric Forman."

The woman briefly caught eyes with Jackie and nodded, "Yes, there was a man who came in here from a car accident, but I don't know his name. I'm sorry."

"Is he okay?" Jackie asked nervously.

"I don't know," The woman replied, catching eyes with Jackie, "He was unconscious when he was brought in, they rushed him back, I'm sorry, but I don't know what's going on back there."

"Please, you have to tell—"

"Jackie," David suddenly said as he grabbed Jackie's arm to calm her, "It's alright, we'll find out where he is and if he's okay, but obviously she doesn't know anything about his condition."

"I need to know that he's okay," Jackie snapped, her eyes filling with tears once again.

"Jackie…" David trailed off, not knowing how to comfort her in a situation like this. This had been one hell of a night.

"I need him to be okay," Jackie said, her voice trembling.

"He'll be fine," David assured her, "Eric's tough, he'll be okay."

"How do you know that?" Jackie asked as tears started to fall down her face.

"Hey," The nurse behind Jackie suddenly spoke, her voice gentle now as everybody turned to look at her, "I'll go check in with the doctor. I'll find out what information we have on him, okay?"

Jackie nodded, but didn't speak, she couldn't, her emotions were getting the best of her. Jackie dropped her head and looked down at the hospital floor, trying to calm herself down, which was failing. David's hand was still on her arm, trying to offer her the best comfort he could. David frowned as he watched Jackie start to sob. She was obviously annoyed that they didn't know anything, and that was only making all of this worse.

Jackie tilted her head forward and let it hit David's shoulder. David quickly wrapped his arms around her and she rested her head on his shoulder and sobbed as he rubbed her back in a comforting way. Jackie cried into his shoulder and the group around them stayed silent in fear and worry.

After a few more minutes of hugging and sobbing, Jackie finally pulled away from David and he grabbed her hand, "Come on, let's go get sat down. Try to relax, yeah?"

Jackie nodded and David directed her the near empty waiting room. The group of four sat down and Jackie put her head in her hands, trying to hide her tears from everyone.

"I hope he's okay…" Jackie whined as tears fell from her face and onto the floor.

David rubbed her back and frowned, "He will be."

"He's such an idiot," Jackie snapped in mild annoyance, "Why would he do something like that?"

David was silent for a minute before he said, "It wasn't his fault."

Jackie sniffled and looked up at her friend, her brow furrowed in saddened confusion, "What wasn't?"

"What happened in the club," David informed her, "Well, not completely anyway."

Jackie furrowed her brow and shook her head, "How was that not his fault?"

David sighed and shrugged, "It was mine… I told him I'd give him a hundred dollars if he kissed that girl… And he was drunk, and Eric is an idiot drunk. I knew he'd do it if I got a few drinks in him, and I just thought it'd be a good laugh… I'm really sorry…"

"It's not your fault, David," Jackie assured him, annoyance in her voice, but it was still heavily covered by worry and fear, "I mean, it was stupid of you to dare him to do something like that, but… He could have still refused to do it, he didn't have to go for it."

"But that's just the thing," David said, "When Eric's drunk, he just sort of blacks out and becomes a different person. And… At first he didn't want to do it, but that's when I threw the money in, and… Well… It happened. The kiss lasted longer than anyone thought, it was just going to be a three second thing, but she threw herself onto him. It's not his fault, not completely."

Jackie shook her head, "David, I don't want to talk about this right now."

David nodded, "I know… I just thought you should know what happened."

Jackie sighed and nodded as she glanced over at him, "Thanks."

David nodded and went quiet along with everybody else. The group of friends waited for what seemed like forever for anybody to tell them anything. They all tried relaxing, but none of them really got to that point. They were all too nervous and fearful.

Jackie was so tired. The crying had really taken it out of her, but she couldn't fall asleep. She had to be awake when the doctor came out to talk to them. Jackie looked down at her feet, trying to find it in her heart to forgive Eric. She couldn't live without him, that's for sure, but what he did was unforgiveable. Wasn't it? Eric was an idiot when he was drunk, he'd do anything for five dollars sober. Eric almost forgot how to use his brain and think when he was drunk, some people at least were able to know what was right and wrong when drunk, Eric just didn't. He wouldn't have gotten in the car if he did.

Jackie was still upset with him though, and she'd let him know that whenever she saw him again.

About two hours or maybe even longer later, Jackie felt a tap on her shoulder and she jerked her head up to look at David. He tilted his head forward towards something and Jackie turned and saw a doctor approaching them, still in his surgical scrubs.

Jackie and everyone else quickly stood as the doctor stopped in front of them.

"Is he okay?" Jackie asked, her hands clasped together tightly at her chest.

The doctor nodded, "He's going to be alright."

Everyone in the room released a tense, nervous breath they've been holding since they got the call. Andrea stepped forward a little bit and asked, "What are the extent of his injuries?"

"Well, he's going to have to stay with us here for a couple of weeks, possibly a month depending on how quickly he heals," The doctor said, looking at all of them.

"How bad is it?" Jackie asked nervously, concern in her eyes and voice. The doctor noticed she was trembling.

"Well, he's currently unconscious, he seems to have suffered a head injury," The doctor said, "We won't know how severe it is until he wakes up, but other than that he broke two ribs, he has a fracture in his wrist, and he's got some cuts and bruises, naturally."

"Head injury?" Jackie said in fear.

"Yes, we don't think it's too severe," The doctor assured the group of worried friends, "His brain activity seems to be functioning at normal levels. He may have some trouble speaking at first, or catching onto what you're saying, so take it slow. But like I said, we won't know the extent of his head injury until he wakes up."

"C-can we see him now?" Jackie asked anxiously.

The doctor smiled softly and nodded, "Yes, follow me."

With that, the four friends followed the doctor down the hall. It seemed like it took them forever to get to Eric's room, but when they stopped the doctor turned back to them and smiled in an assuring way.

"He's breathing on his own, so that's a good sign," The doctor said gently, "He's just in here, and please, take your time."

The doctor moved out of their way, and let them enter the room. The four nervously stepped in and Jackie felt her heart break into a million pieces when she saw Eric lying in that hospital bed. He was, as the doctor said, unconscious. He looked pale and lifeless, but he was breathing normally. He had a cast on his left arm and some smaller bandages on his face where some bleeding cuts were. He sat slightly upright and a large white bandage covered his shirtless torso, presumably for the broken ribs. Andrea, Rachel, and David all hung back by the door, letting Jackie see him first.

Jackie gazed down at Eric and felt tears pricking her eyes again. She'd had enough crying at this point, but she couldn't stop them from coming. Eric was wheezing slightly, having a tiny bit of struggle breathing with the broken ribs, but the doctor said he'd be fine. Jackie finally stopped by Eric's bedside and reached out her hand and grabbed his gently. Jackie grabbed the chair from behind her and pulled it closer to the bed, sitting down in it and gazing over at Eric. Jackie gently gripped Eric's uninjured arm in her hand as she felt the tears streaming down her face again.

Jackie pressed her forehead to Eric's forearm and sobbed. She can't believe this happened to him, this was unfair. She sobbed into the sheets for just a minute before she lifted her head and looked up at Eric's face. She slowly brought her hand up and brushed a strand of hair out of his face before she softly stroked his jaw.

"How long do you think he'll be asleep?" Jackie asked as she turned and looked over her shoulder at her friends briefly.

David shrugged after a moment of collecting his thoughts, "I-I don't know. Not long, hopefully."

Jackie sniffled and forced herself to stop crying, and it was getting really hard to do, "I was so mean to him. He probably thinks I hate him."

David shook his head, "No, Jackie. He'd never think that."

Jackie shook her head, "He probably hates me."

"Jackie," David said as he stepped over to her and kneeled down next to the chair so he could catch her eyes, "Eric would never hate you. You were right to be angry, he knows that. But he could never hate you, I can promise you that."

"I-I just feel so bad," Jackie croaked as she stroked Eric's hair, "I hit him."

"Don't think about all of that," David said, grabbing Jackie's hand, making her look down at him, "I can assure you that the first thing he will want to see when he wakes up is you."

"You think so?" Jackie asked, seemingly not buying into that.

David nodded, "I know so."

Jackie looked back up at Eric and sighed sadly before she thought of something, "Andrea."

Andrea flinched at the sudden use of his name and he looked over at Jackie, "Y-yes?"

"Go call his mom," Jackie ordered gently, looking over her shoulder at Andrea, "You remember her number?"

Andrea nodded, "Yes, I'm on it."

Jackie didn't even have time to say thank you, because by the time she opened her mouth, Andrea was already gone.

0-0-0-0-0

Jackie fell asleep after about two hours of sitting with Eric, she just couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. It was about three in the morning by that point. Jackie rested her head on the mattress next to Eric's unconscious form, her hands still holding onto his uninjured arm, and she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

She only slept for about three hours when she woke again. She woke with a jerk, which confused her. There was no noise or anything, she just woke up as if someone had shaken her awake. She blinked sleepily a few times and slowly brought her head up, looking around the room.

Andrea and Rachel had fallen asleep and were leaning against each other on the small couch on the far side of the room, David had fallen asleep as well about a foot from them. The doctor had been generous enough to let them all stay the night, usually anyone who wasn't related or married to the patient would have to leave.

Jackie turned her head to look up at Eric and check on him and was surprised when she was met with a pair of tired hazel eyes. Jackie sat up quickly and looked at him, her whole body tensing with nervous realization. Jackie felt her whole body go numb as she looked into Eric's tired eyes.

Eric stared back at her, as if he were nervous. Jackie softened her gaze on him and relaxed her shoulders after a moment of starting back at him.

"Eric…" Jackie breathed as she gently took his hand in hers, making him flinch slightly. His eyes were watery, he looked like he wanted to cry.

Jackie felt her eyes sting as well when she saw the fearful and somewhat confused look on his face. Eric sucked in a sharp breath and winced at the pain in his abdomen, he felt a single tear fall from his eye as Jackie gripped his hand. Eric choked back a sob as he looked down at Jackie. He couldn't remember much of what happened, he just knew that he was afraid. Jackie leaned forward a little and brushed Eric's hair back, trying to calm him. Eric brought his uninjured hand up and grabbed at Jackie, trying to pull her towards him.

"You were in a car accident," Jackie scooted closer to him as he quietly cried, wincing a little at the pain in his ribs, "You're okay, though. You're going to be okay."

Eric furrowed his brows a little in concern, looking down at himself and now he realized the extent of his injuries. This seemed to upset him a little more, and he winced again at the pain in his ribs.

"You have a couple broken ribs," Jackie informed him, trying to calm him down, "Try to stay calm. You're going to be okay."

Jackie tried comforting him as best as she could. She held his hand and stayed close, trying to keep as relaxed as possible. Jackie looked over her shoulder at her friends who were still sleeping and she whispered to them gently, "Guys… He's awake."

Andrea woke first, since he was the lightest sleeper. He cracked open his tired eyes and looked over at Jackie, not having heard what she had said. He brought a hand up to rub his eye and then he looked across the room and saw Eric had his eyes open, and that instantly woke Andrea right up.

"Eric," Andrea said as he quickly sat up, waking up Rachel as he moved.

"What's going on…?" Rachel mumbled as she opened her eyes and sat up a little.

"Eric's awake," Andrea told her, but he didn't look down at her, his eyes were focused on one of his closest friends.

Rachel then nudged a still sleeping David with her elbow to wake him, he mumbled something incoherent as he tried opening his sleep filled eyes. It took him a little longer to figure out what was going on, but when he did, he sat up like the others and peered curiously across at Eric.

"Are you feeling okay?" Andrea asked as he stood, taking a few small steps towards Eric.

Eric tried shrugging, but it hurt to move. Then he tried to speak, but his throat was dry and he coughed a little. Andrea stepped over and stood next to Jackie, looking down at the injured, bedridden man.

"Can one of you go and find a doctor?" Jackie asked, surely they'd want to know that Eric had woken.

David nodded and stood, "Sure thing. I'll be right back."

David quickly left the room and went down the hall, trying to find the closest doctor or nurse.

"We'll get you something to drink shortly," Jackie assured him, squeezing his hand.

She was so happy he was awake. She was so glad to see his eyes again. She was so scared earlier, she doesn't know what she would do with herself if he—She didn't even want to think it.

Soon enough a doctor and several nurses made themselves known as they entered the room. The doctor who had treated Eric earlier came over to him and looked down at Jackie, "We're going to have to ask you to step back for moment, ma'am."

Jackie nodded and squeezed Eric's hand as he gave her a fearful look, "It's okay, I'll be right over there, okay?"

Eric nodded slightly and Jackie gave him a sad, but reassuring smile before she was forced to step back away from Eric. She and her friends stood by the door and watched as the doctor and nurses swarmed around Eric. The doctor asked Eric simple questions and spoke to him in a gentle tone, perhaps to let him know he was okay in their hands. The doctor checked to make sure everything with Eric was fine. He checked his hearing and vision, he asked him to grab his hand and squeeze it as tightly as he possibly could, and lastly he checked Eric's bandages and casts to make sure they were on him comfortably. After a few minutes of all of this, the doctor stepped back and smiled down at Eric, "Alright, everything seems in order. How are you feeling?"

Eric opened his mouth to speak, but his throat was so dry nothing would come out. The doctor frowned and furrowed his brow before he turned to one of the nurses, "Ms. Lawson, can you go and get him a glass of water, please? Thank you."

The nurse smiled in recognition before she walked out of the room and down the hall. Eric looked fearful, but overall, confused. The doctor couldn't ask him any questions until he could speak, at least just a little bit anyway.

"Everything seems fine," The doctor assured him, "You may feel a little pain in your ribs or your back, but we'll get you something for that, don't worry."

Eric nodded as the nurse briskly walked back into the room with a glass of water. She smiled sweetly at Eric and handed him the drink gently. Eric took it from her and took slow, large gulps of water before he handed it to the nurse and she set it on the table next to his bed.

"Better?" The doctor asked.

Eric nodded, "Y-yes."

"Good," The doctor smiled, "We took your blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate, and temperature, and everything seems normal. I'll have to ask you some other questions though since we don't have a record on you here, is that okay?"

"Yes," Eric said, his voice strained and scratchy.

"Okay, are you allergic or taking medication for anything?" He asked.

"No," Eric replied.

"Have you in the past?" The doctor asked.

"I u-used to take Adderall," Eric replied.

"When did you stop?"

"Three years ago," Eric replied.

"Alright, we know that you drink alcohol, but do you do any other recreational drugs?" The doctor asked.

Eric shook his head, "Not regularly."

"But you do sometimes?" He asked him, giving him a sort of teasing look.

"I haven't for several months," Eric replied honestly. He hasn't. Not since the kids came around.

The doctor went on to ask Eric some other questions, like about his family's medical history, any surgeries he's had in the past, heart problems, circulation problems, bone problems, diseases he might have, etc. Everything came back fine.

"Okay, so your girlfriend has told me all about you," The doctor said, smiling a tad, "We know your name is Eric Forman, you are an English and music teacher, you have a bachelor's degree in childhood education, and you can be hyperactive. She might have told me a little too much, but she seemed worried, so I'll let that slide."

Jackie smiled a little in embarrassment from everything she told the doctor earlier. She probably did tell him too much, things he probably didn't need to know. Those things weren't even medically related.

"Have you ever been or are you now depressed?" The doctor asked.

Eric shook his head slowly, "No."

"Any anxiety?"

"Sometimes," Eric replied honestly.

"Is there a reason for that?" The doctor asked.

Eric shrugged and looked down at his lap a little, "My dad died re-recently."

"Oh," The doctor gave Eric a comforting look, "I'm so sorry to hear that."

"That's okay," Eric said sadly, looking back up at the doctor, his throat getting a little sore now from talking.

"Well, um…" The doctor tried thinking of his next question, "Oh, last thing. Do you know how tall you are and how much you weigh?"

"I'm 5'11, I don't know h-how much I weigh," Eric replied, "I think I'm around one-forty though."

The doctor nodded and wrote that down on his clipboard before he tucked it under his arm and smiled down at Eric, "Alright, well everything seems normal. Right now my best advice for you is to get some rest and we'll see how you're feeling a little later, okay?"

Eric nodded and asked before the doctor left the room, "Wait. Is th-there a reason I'm s-stuttering like this?"

The doctor smiled in a reassuring way and nodded, "You've had a head injury so it might take you a little while to get back into the swing of things. I've had dozens of head injury patients who have done that exact same thing and it always goes away, don't worry, just let your brain have it's time to heal."

Eric nodded, "Thank you."

The doctor smiled, "No problem. I'll see you in a little while, Mr. Forman."

Eric nodded in appreciation and the doctor and the nurses left the room, the doctor giving Jackie and her friends a friendly smile as he passed.

After the doctor left, Andrea looked to Eric and asked, "How are you feeling?"

Eric shrugged slightly and tried to adjust his sitting position so he could become more comfortable, "Okay… I'm tired…"

He seemed nervous and David looked between him and Jackie before he spoke up, "Um… I'm going to go get some coffee, you guys want to join?"

Rachel nodded and smiled knowingly as she stepped towards the door with David, "Yeah, I could go for a cup of coffee myself, right Andrea?"

"But I—"

"Andrea," Rachel said as she grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door with her and David, "Come on."

Andrea was confused, but he let Rachel drag him out of the room and down the hall so they could go and get some coffee. Jackie then turned and looked at Eric who was gazing at her through curious, somewhat anxious eyes.

"Are you okay?" Jackie asked, feeling concern come over her.

Eric nodded, averting her gaze, his face turning a light shade of pink. Jackie frowned and stepped over to him, stopping and sitting on the edge of his bed. Eric wanted to apologize, he wanted to tell her he loved her, he was just so… scared. He flinched a little when he felt Jackie grab his hand and he looked down at their entwined hands. Jackie now noticed that Eric was shaking. Maybe he was cold? Maybe it was the shock?

"I want to give you a hug, but I'm afraid that might hurt you," Jackie said as she tried catching his gaze. Eric frowned and finally caught eyes with Jackie and she saw the tears in his eyes now. She furrowed her brow and tightened her grip on his hand, "Eric?"

Eric was trying his best to keep from crying, but it didn't look like he was going to succeed in his attempts.

"Are you okay?" Jackie asked, scooting closer to him, "Are you hurting?"

Eric shook his head slightly and looked Jackie in the eye, "I'm so sorry…"

Jackie frowned and slumped her shoulders, now realizing why he was so upset. Jackie grabbed his hand with both of hers now and gave him a sad look, "Eric, it's okay…"

Eric shook his head, "No, it's not… I-I kissed someone else. Y-you should be mad."

"Eric, please… Don't cry," Jackie said, wiping the tears from his face with her thumbs, "I am mad, yes. But… After all of this happened, I realized… I can't think of a happy life without you in it. It may sound cheesy, but it's true… So, am I mad? Yes. Hurt? Yes. But I still love you, and I always will."

"You forgive me?" Eric asked, sniffling, seeming a little surprised, "Why?"

"David sort of explained the situation," Jackie said, shrugging slightly, "It was stupid, of both of you, and it'll take me a while to really get over it. But I forgive you."

Eric looked like he wanted to cry again. He couldn't believe this. How did he get so lucky? He told himself right there and then that'd he'd never fuck up that bad again. Eric didn't deserve Jackie, she didn't deserve all of this. She deserved someone better, someone who didn't kiss other women because their stupid friend dared them to. Why was David such an idiot? Why was Eric himself such an idiot?

"But when you get better, I am going to kick your ass," Jackie informed him jokingly, a small smile on her face.

This made Eric finally smile as well, and that sight itself made Jackie's heart melt.

"Now there's a beautiful sight," Jackie smiled sweetly and squeezed his hand.

0-0-0-0-0

By noon, Jackie had stepped out to get some fresh air. David and Rachel were still in the room with Eric, but Andrea had stepped outside with Jackie.

"He seems to feel fine," Andrea remarked as he looked around the front entrance to the hospital.

Jackie nodded in response, "The doctor's will be giving him some more pain meds in about an hour."

"How are you feeling?" Andrea asked, looking over at Jackie in curious concern.

Jackie shrugged and looked over at him, "I'm okay."

"Are you still mad?" He asked her, his voice a little worried.

Jackie shrugged again, a small smile on her face, "I don't know. A little… It's hard to be mad at him right now, he's so… vulnerable. By the time he feels better I don't know if I'll have it in me to be angry at him."

"What about trusting each other?" Andrea asked curiously.

Jackie nodded her head at that, "That's the thing I'm worried most about."

"You guys will be back to normal soon," Andrea assured her, "Knowing Eric, he will do anything to make you forgive him."

Jackie smiled sweetly, "Yeah… I know."

"Jackie!" A familiar voice suddenly called her name, making Jackie jerk her head up and look towards the voice. She saw Kitty Forman quickly approaching her, a look of worry on her face.

"Mrs. Forman," Jackie said in surprise, "I didn't think you'd be here so fast."

"We took some short cuts," Kitty informed her, looking towards the front doors to the hospital nervously, "Where's Eric? How is he? Is he hurt badly?"

"He's fine, Mrs. Forman, don't worry," Jackie assured her, putting a gentle hand on her arm, "Follow me, he'll be happy to see you."

Jackie and Andrea led Kitty into the hospital, and it was now that Jackie noticed that Laurie, Steven, and Donna were all with her. She didn't greet them or even say anything to them yet, they all shared the same look of worry. A minute later, the group were at the end of the hall where Eric was and Jackie directed them in, and as soon as Kitty saw her son, she was hovering over him, asking him questions.

"Eric!" Kitty cried as she practically dashed into the room.

Eric jerked his head up and looked over at his mother, a look of surprise on his face, but it quickly turned to joy and little bit of annoyance as his mother started pestering him with questions.

"Are you okay? What's broken? Can you walk? When are you getting out of here?" She asked question after question.

"I'm f-fine, mom," Eric smiled, appreciative that she was just there, "I promise, I-I'm fine."

Kitty then smiled down at Eric, grabbing his hand, "Oh, my poor baby!"

"Mom…" Eric complained when she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"How you feeling, Forman?" Steven asked as he approached his bedside and looked down at him, "Looks like you got nicked up pretty bad."

Eric shook his head, "I'm fine. It's n-not as bad it looks."

"Nice stutter you got there," Laurie remarked as she looked down at her little brother, though she looked concerned, "I'm glad you're alright."

"Thanks Laurie," Eric smiled at her and looked over her shoulder at Donna in the doorway, "Hey Donna."

She smiled sweetly at him and waved, "Hi Eric. You look like hell."

Eric scoffed, "Th-thanks."

Donna smiled and looked around the room, noticing the people she's never met before, "Who are of you people?"

"Donna!" Kitty scolded her, sending her a look.

"No, wait! I think I know," Steven smiled, looking over at the three in the room as he pointed from David to Andrea, "You're short and snarky, and you're awkward and ill-tempered."

"Steven!" Kitty snapped at her adopted son, but Steven only smirked.

"And I wonder who described us that way?" David said sarcastically, glancing over at Eric who had the faintest smile on his face. David held out his hand to Kitty and smiled a friendly, but slightly annoyed smile thanks to Eric, "Hi, I'm David, nice to meet you."

Kitty shook the man's hand and smiled sweetly, "Oh yes, I've heard so much about you," Kitty then turned and looked at Andrea, "And you must be Andrea. Jackie talks about you two all the time."

Andrea smiled a little sweetly and he kindly shook Kitty's hand. Kitty then looked over to Rachel and smiled at her, "You're Rachel, right?"

The girl smiled and nodded, approaching Kitty, "Yep, that's me. Nice to meet you."

Kitty smiled at the girl as she shook her hand and then she turned to Jackie, raising a curious eyebrow, "And where is the other boy? Ayrton, isn't it?"

"Oh, he's at home with…" Jackie nor Eric ever told Kitty about the children, they don't know, but they never did. They didn't know how to tell her over the phone that they had practically adopted three kids after their mother abandoned them, "He's at home, watching over things. I called him earlier to let him know how Eric was. He'll probably come and visit later."

After everybody had met everybody, they all just sat around and talked to each other for a while. An hour or so later, the doctor came in gave Eric his next dose of pain meds, which made him tired, and after only about fifteen more minutes of talking, he fell asleep and everyone in the room got quiet.

Jackie figured she should probably stop by the apartment and get a shower and get all cleaned up. She needed to check on the kids anyway, and while she was at it, she could take Kitty's and everyone else's luggage there and drop it off.

"Alright, I'm going to be gone for an hour tops," Jackie told David and Andrea, "Call me if you guys need anything. I'm going to go get a shower and grab a few things for Eric. I'll be back later."

"I'll come with," Donna said, standing, "I'll help with the luggage."

"Okay," Jackie said quietly before she flicked her eyes over to Kitty, "Mrs. Forman, maybe you should come too."

"No, I'm fine," Kitty assured her, "I just want to stay her with my baby. Make sure he'll be okay."

"Mrs. Forman, he'll be fine," Jackie said, shrugging her shoulders, "Trust me, I don't want to go either, but I have to get out of this hospital for a little while, it's starting to drive me mad. You don't want to end up like me, come on… There's something I need to show you anyway."

Kitty looked down at her son and frowned, then she sighed and said, "Well… Okay, but not for long. I want to be here for him."

"We'll be back within the hour," Jackie smiled in an assuring manner before she looked over at her friends, "See ye' guys later."

"See ye'," They all waved at her, Kitty, and Donna as they left the room. Steven remained sitting in the chair next to Eric's bed, Rachel stood by the door, watching the room.

Laurie plopped down onto the spot between David and Andrea on the couch and smiled at both of them before she said, "So… Are either of you single?"

0-0-0-0-0

Jackie opened the door to the apartment she shared with many others a little while later, smiling a little as she stepped in, Kitty and Donna right behind her. She closed the door behind them and looked around the oddly quiet apartment, and a moment later, Ayrton made himself known.

"Jackie," He said as he came around the corner, a look of worry on his face, "How is Eric doing?"

Jackie smiled a little and replied with, "He's doing fine. He just took his medication, so he sleeping right now."

Ayrton nodded and sighed in relief, "Okay…" Then he saw the two women standing behind Jackie and he smiled kindly, "Hi, I do not think we have met. I'm Ayrton."

"Hi, nice to meet you," Donna smiled as she shook his hand.

"Jackie's told us so much about you," Kitty smiled at him.

"Really?" Ayrton smiled teasingly at Jackie and she just rolled her eyes.

"This is a very lovely home you have here," Kitty said, looking around the clean apartment.

"You will have to talk to Andrea about all of that," Ayrton smiled, "He is the one that decorated it, I just live here."

"Well, he did a swell job," Kitty smiled sweetly.

"Is Jackie home?!" A small voice cried before Peyton ran around the corner and over to Jackie, "Jackie! Is Eric okay?"

Jackie smiled down at the girl reassuringly, "Yes, Eric's fine. He's a little tired and a little sore, but he'll be back to his old self in a few weeks."

"W-who's this?" Kitty asked curiously, a little surprised to see a child here.

"Oh, this is Peyton," Jackie introduced the girl to her, "Peyton, this is Kitty. Eric's mother."

Peyton smiled sweetly up at Kitty and shook her hand, "Hi. Nice to meet you."

"How old are you?" Kitty asked kindly, smiling down at the girl.

"Thirteen," She replied, "Fourteen in November."

"You look—"

"Younger? Yeah, I get that a lot," Peyton smiled, shrugging her frail shoulders.

Kitty turned to look at Jackie, "I didn't know there was a child living here."

"Oh, you haven't met my brothers yet," Peyton said, turning to look over her shoulder before she called, "Bruno! Leo!"

Kitty gave Jackie a surprised look before she turned and saw two more children, who were younger than the girl teenage girl, come around the corner.

The older boy smiled up at Kitty and Donna when he saw them, his smile charming and friendly, "Hi, I'm Bruno. What's your name?"

"I-I'm Kitty," She responded, "And this is Donna. I'm Eric's mother."

"Eric told me you're really cool," Bruno beamed sweetly.

"Did he now?" Kitty asked with a smile, "And… How old are you?"

"I'll be eight next month," Bruno replied before he looked down at his younger brother, "Leo's three. Say hi, Leo."

"Hi-hi," Leo said shyly, wiggling his tiny fingers at Kitty. He always said hi-hi when greeting someone, it was just a cute kid thing he did.

"You three are just the cutest things," Kitty smiled at them.

"Thank you," The two older ones said with a smile.

Bruno then looked up at Jackie and asked, "Is Eric coming home soon?"

Jackie frowned and shrugged, "Not yet, kiddo. He's a little hurt right now, but if you guys all go and get dressed, I'm sure he'd love to see you."

The three of them beamed and immediately turned around and ran to their room, going to get dressed. Kitty and Donna both turned to look at Jackie, curious smiles on both their faces.

"Where are their parents?" Kitty asked in concern.

"Their father, we don't know," Jackie replied with a shrug, "Their mother abandoned them though, so we're just looking after them."

Kitty smiled a little bit and said, "Well, they seem to love you two."

"Well, we love them too," Jackie smiled before she said, "Well, I'm going to go and get cleaned up. Ayrton can help you with your luggage if you'd like, I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Okay," Kitty smiled, looking over at Jackie as she stepped towards her and Eric's shared bedroom.

Jackie closed the bedroom door behind her and leaned back against it, closing her eyes and releasing a tense sigh. She felt like crying again. All of these different emotions have just overwhelmed her over the past day. She was happy, sad, worried, and still a little angry. It was hard handling all of these emotions at the same time.

Jackie was still mad at Eric, and she should be. What he did was incredibly stupid. But it was hard to be mad at him in his condition right now. But rest assured, when he got better she'd have to kick his ass. David's too.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer - Read the first chapter's.

August 30, 1985

A week later Eric was finally able to get out of bed. The doctor's wanted him to start physical therapy as soon as he was able to walk, so here they were. Kitty, Donna and Jackie were there with him, as well as Bruno. The others were at home doing their regular everyday stuff. Peyton stayed home because she had homework to do. She was always complaining about how she hated middle school. Jackie just wishes she could go back to middle school. Her biggest problem back then was having the right makeup brand that all the popular girls had.

Kitty was helping Eric down the hallway, her arm wrapped firmly around his middle. Jackie brought him some clothes he would be comfortable in so he could get out of that hospital gown. He was wearing sweatpants and a baggy Black Sabbath t-shirt, and on his feet were his worn out converse sneakers he's had since freshman year of high-school.

"Are you okay, Eric?" Bruno asked as he 'helped' him along, his small hand resting on Eric's back, trying to keep him steady.

Eric nodded and smiled surely down at the boy, but he winced a little at the pain in his ribs, "I'm fine, buddy."

"We're almost there, Eric," Jackie assured him with a gentle smile as they neared their destination. They were going to go outside. There was a nice outdoor area for the stay-in patients to venture out to every now and again. They thought Eric should have some fresh air, so they decided they'd go out there.

"You look like you feel a little better," Donna remarked as she looked back at Eric as they slowly walked around the corner.

Eric nodded slightly, trying to concentrate on walking, "I do… Everything still hurts, though."

"Alright, here we are," Kitty said as she steadied Eric as they stopped.

Bruno let go of Eric and rushed ahead to the doors, holding them open for everybody. Kitty wrapped her arm around Eric's waist and helped him through the doors, Jackie and Donna following behind them. Kitty and Eric both smiled down at the young boy as they passed as a gesture of appreciation. The outdoor space was nice. There were flowers and such around, benches with several patients sitting on them, there were even some chess tables around for entertainment.

"It's nice out today," Jackie smiled as she looked around the area, breathing in the fresh summer air.

The others seemed to agree as they peered around the area. The patients genuinely seemed happy out here, even Eric seemed a little uplifted. He's been a bit depressed being stuck inside his room for the past week, now that he could walk around a little, he could get out and venture.

"Come on, let's go find somewhere to sit," Donna said when she noticed Eric seemed to be having trouble breathing.

Kitty nodded in agreement and she followed Donna and Jackie as Bruno returned to helping her with Eric. The group found a small table in the shade a few yards away from the entrance to the hospital. Jackie looked back at Eric to see how he was doing as they slowly made their way towards the table; he looked to be in pain as he slowly walked with the help of his mother. As they reached the table, they helped Eric sit down and made sure he was comfortable before they sat down. After he was settled, they all took their seats. Bruno sat next to Eric, and Kitty sat next to Bruno. Jackie and Donna sat across from them, everyone peering over at Eric in concern. To be quite honest, Eric was getting tired of everybody constantly hovering over him. He sometimes just wanted some peace and quiet, but his mother was here, and every time he got hurt or was sick she treated it like he was dying.

Eric looked across at Jackie and she offered him a sweet smile, and he smiled a small smile back at her. Eric was breathing kind of shallowly, and he winced a little at the pain in his ribs.

Jackie reached in her bag that she brought along that all of Eric's medication and other stuff was in and she pulled out the inhaler that the doctor had given him. During his surgery there was a complication and it did slight damage to one of his lungs, but the doctor said it was nothing a little inhaler couldn't fix every now and again.

"Here," Jackie said, handing it to Eric.

He took it from her hand and put it up to his mouth before pushing the small button on the top of it and letting the medicine hit the back of his throat. He seemed to be able to breathe a little better now as he sucked in a sharp breath of air.

"Do you remember anything from the crash?" Donna asked curiously when Eric winced again.

Eric shrugged a little bit, "I'm starting to."

"Well, if you don't mind me asking, what happened?" Donna asked, peering across at Eric nervously.

Eric looked over at Bruno as the child stood and walked over to a nearby flowerbed, kneeling down in front of it and picking up a ladybug. Then Eric looked over at his mother, feeling nervous now. He looked down at the tabletop and swallowed thickly before he tried to explain.

"Well, it's kind of a long story," Eric explained, shrugging a little. He really didn't want to tell this story, "The night itself was already kind of crappy before I even got in the accident."

Jackie frowned and looked down at her hands in her lap, avoiding Eric's gaze as he tried telling his story. Nobody at this table knew that her and Eric were together. Neither of them have told anybody outside of their little friend group, they don't know why, maybe they were just nervous.

"I was a club a few blocks from the apartment," Eric started, avoiding everyone's gaze, "I did something really stupid and I got into a fight with a… friend… We got into a little argument outside and then, out of anger and drunken stupidity, I got in my car and drove off."

"Eric, no…" Kitty said quietly, frowning at her youngest.

Eric kept his gaze focused on the tabletop as he continued, "I guess I was speeding, I don't remember. But the next thing I knew, I ran into something and I wasn't wearing a seatbelt, so… I flew through the windshield and landed on the concrete. There was a girl there with some of her friends, she kept me calm while we waited for the ambulance, but I think I might have passed out before it arrived, because the next thing I remember is waking up in a hospital bed."

"Damn…" Donna said quietly as she stared at him, a look of shock on her face.

"Well um…" Kitty didn't know what to say. She was disappointed in her son for driving while drunk, but she felt so bad for him. He didn't mention who he was fighting with or why they were fighting, but it seemed to have affected him pretty bad, "I'm just glad you're okay, sweetheart."

Eric offered a small smile to his mother and she smiled sweetly back at him.

"We're all glad you're okay," Donna said, smiling across at him as Bruno came back to the table, holding a ladybug on his finger.

"Look what I found, Eric," He said excitedly as he sat down between him and Kitty, showing the small creature to Eric.

Eric smiled down at it, "It's very pretty."

"It has four spots," Bruno noticed, gazing down at the bug with a smile, "That means it's four years old!"

"Oh yeah?" Eric asked, knowing that wasn't true, but he just went with it.

"Yeah," Bruno replied before he looked up at Kitty, "I named her Kitty-Kat, after you, Mrs. Forman."

Kitty smiled down at the child sweetly, "Awe, well that's very sweet of you, Bruno."

"Hey, why don't you go put Kitty-Kat back in the bush?" Eric suggested, "She'll be healthy and happy over there, I think."

Bruno nodded in agreement, "Okay," Then he stood and went back over to the bush to put the bug back where it belonged.

"You're pretty good with him," Donna remarked, smiling slightly.

"That kid's liked Eric since they met," Jackie said, "He's always hanging around him, wanting to go do things."

"You're almost like a father figure to him," Donna said, then widened her eyes, "Wait a minute. Does he actually look at you like a father?"

Eric shrugged and smiled, "Yeah… He's asked if he could call me dad before."

Kitty seemed excited by this as she grabbed Eric's hand, "Oh my God! He's almost like my grandson!"

Eric rolled his eyes at his mother's enthusiasm, "Mom…"

"This is so exciting!" Kitty exclaimed, laughing her signature laugh.

Eric snickered at her and turned to look back across at Jackie, who was smiling across at Kitty. Jackie was so beautiful when she smiled. Eric sighed and watched her, trying to figure out a way to make everything up to her. Of course, first he'd have to get out of the hospital.

0-0-0-0-0

"I think somebody's getting tired," Jackie remarked as they helped Eric back down the hall, referring to Bruno who was trudging along behind them. It was getting late now, nearing eight. Bruno wasn't used to being active all day long. He's been on his feet for pretty much the whole day.

"You guys will have to take him home here pretty soon," Eric said as he looked over his shoulder at the tired boy, "He looks like he could pass out at any minute."

"Come here, buddy," Jackie said, swiftly lifting Bruno off his feet and carrying him on her hip.

"I'm not tired…" The boy tried, but his attempts were failing.

"Yeah, sure," Jackie smiled, fixing his shirt from where it had ridden up.

The group soon got back to Eric's room and they helped him get into bed. Once he was comfortable, they stepped back and sat down themselves, all of them a little tired. It's been a long day. They all sat in silence for a few minutes, but then there was a knock on the door, and they all turned to look towards it and saw Hyde and Andrea standing in the doorway.

"Hey guys," Donna smiled sleepily at the two as they entered the room, "Come to pick us up?"

"Yes," Andrea said as he looked over at Eric, "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Eric replied tiredly. He wanted to go to sleep, but it was a little hard when everybody was in here crowding him, "The doctor's said I'll probably only be here a few more days."

"Well, that is good news," Andrea said with a small smile as he looked around the room at everybody.

"I'm sure he just can't wait to get home," Jackie said as she looked down at Eric where he lay in his bed, trying to keep his eyes open, "Looks like somebody else is a little tired themselves."

"Maybe we should let him rest," Hyde said quietly, gesturing towards the door, "You guys ready?"

"I'm staying here," Kitty stated firmly, but she did stand, "I'm just going to go and get some coffee first."

"Well, okay," Hyde said, looking around the room, "Are the rest of you guys ready?"

Everybody nodded, and started towards the door, Jackie handing Bruno to Andrea. Kitty assured Eric that she'd be right back as Jackie slowly followed the others. After the others were gone, Jackie had stayed in the room and turned back to Eric. He was looking over at her sleepily and she smiled back at him, quietly stepping over to him.

Jackie stopped by his bedside and he gave her a slightly annoyed, tired look. He just wanted everyone to leave him alone for a while, but he needed a little help lying down comfortably. Jackie helped him sit up and fixed his pillow before she wrapped an arm around his middle and helped him lay on his back, and he sighed in content when was finally comfortable. Jackie pulled the blanket up on him and smiled down at him, tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear. He really needed a haircut. Jackie leaned down and kissed him on the cheek before she looked down into his tired hazel eyes. He was so tired, he was falling asleep quickly. Jackie grabbed his hand and gave it one final squeeze before she turned towards the door and left the room.

"You two are together, aren't you?" Donna asked as Jackie closed Eric's door behind her, making Jackie nearly jump out of her skin and put a hand to her heart in fright.

"Jesus, Donna! You scared the crap out of me!" Jackie said, trying to be quiet so she didn't wake Eric.

"Well?" Donna said expectedly.

Jackie released a tense breath and gave Donna a look, "Why does it matter?"

"It doesn't," Donna said as Jackie stepped away from the door and towards Donna, "I just have a hunch."

"I don't see what the big deal is," Jackie said, walking past Donna and down the hall a little, Donna following her.

"You refusing to respond answers my question," Donna called out to her.

Jackie sighed and turned back around to face Donna, who was smiling smugly at her, her arms now crossed over her chest, "Yes. We're together. You happy now?"

"How long have you guys been together?" Donna asked curiously.

"Six months," Jackie replied, not really wanting to talk about this to Donna of all people.

"Six months?!" Donna exclaimed, though quietly, "Why haven't you told anyone?"

Jackie shrugged awkwardly, avoiding Donna's eyes, "I don't know… We just haven't."

"Does anybody know?" Donna asked.

Jackie nodded, crossing her arms, "My roommates know. I mean, they would. We live with them."

"Well…" Donna thought for a moment before she asked the burning question, "How far have you guys gone?"

Jackie gaped and glared at Donna in mild annoyance, "That is none of your business."

"So you guys have had sex," Donna stated with a smile, though she did look a tad jealous, but she tried not to show it. She wanted to be okay with this.

"Donna!" Jackie spat, glaring at Donna.

"Well!" Donna threw up her arms before she smiled, "You guys are good for each other."

Jackie slowly relaxed her shoulders and softened her gaze at her friend, "You really think that?"

Donna nodded and shrugged her shoulders, "Yeah, I mean… You guys both sort of have the same view of how a relationship should be. And you have completely opposite personalities, and you know what they say. Opposites attract."

Jackie smiled a little as she thought of Eric, making Donna smile at her, "You love him, don't you?"

Jackie looked Donna in the eye, a slight blush creeping to her cheeks, "Well… Yeah, I do."

Donna smiled wider and crossed her arms again, "He loves you, too."

"I know," Jackie smiled, then she narrowed her eyes at Donna, "How do you know?"

Donna rolled her eyes, "Jackie, it's so obvious. I've seen the way he's been looking at you all day… He used to look at me like that, just… Not with as much passion as that," Donna then sighed, "I'm not going to lie, it hurts me to say this, but… He looks at you in a way he never looked at me. He really, really loves you."

Jackie smiled and averted Donna's gaze, feeling her cheeks heat up again, "You're not… Mad?"

Donna gave Jackie an incredulous look and furrowed her brow, "Why would I be mad?"

"Well, because… You guys used to go out, and… You almost got married," Jackie said, looking up at Donna again, "You love him, too. I know you do."

"It was never going to work out between me and Eric," Donna explained, "We wanted different things. We've tried several times to be together and it always ended badly. But you guys… You guys make a really good couple."

Jackie smiled sweetly at her friend, "Thanks, Donna."

Donna smiled at Jackie before she looked over the younger woman's shoulder and down the hall, "We should probably catch up with the boys. That Andrea guy can get kind of snappy."

Jackie giggled and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, tell me about it."

Donna stepped forward and her and Jackie walked down the hallway together, rushing to find Andrea and Hyde before Andrea started getting anxious.

0-0-0-0-0

September 5, 1985

"Alright, are you ready?" Jackie asked as she looked over at Eric as he sat on the edge of his hospital bed, fidgeting. He's gone stir crazy in this hospital, he was more than ever ready to leave.

"Yep," Eric said as he looked over at his mother standing by the door, smiling sweetly at him.

"Alright, let's get you home where you can sleep in your own bed," Jackie smiled as she handed one of Eric's bags to Kitty.

Jackie then stepped over to Eric, who was still in slight pain, most of it resonating in his side where his broken ribs were. Eric smiled a tired smile at Jackie as he grabbed her hands as she helped him to his feet. He still had the cast on his left arm and the bandages were still around his torso, but they were covered by his shirt. Jackie pulled Eric's arm around her shoulders to steady him so he could walk a little better.

After he was settled, the three left the hospital room and started down the hall. They had to go and sign out first though, so they stopped in the lobby and Jackie helped Eric sign out. After that was done, they were able to leave the hospital.

"Alright, the car's just over here," Jackie said as she followed behind Kitty.

The three slowly moseyed over to the car, being driven by Andrea, and Jackie helped Eric into the backseat as Kitty put his things in the floorboard before she walked around and got in the passenger seat and Jackie slid in the back with Eric.

Andrea looked over his shoulder at Eric as Jackie closed the door and he asked, "Feeling better?"

Eric smiled at his roommate and friend and nodded, "Much better now I'm out of that damn hospital."

Andrea smirked and turned to the steering wheel before he started up the car. He turned on the heat, now that the fall season was coming around it was starting to get chilly out. It was early morning right now, so it was a bit chilly, but it'd probably warm up later. Jackie sighed contently as she looked over at Eric; he was putting on his seatbelt, not taking any chances this time. Jackie smiled sweetly at him and reached over, grabbing his hand. Eric sighed and let his head hit the head rest behind him, happy to finally be free.

Andrea pulled out onto the road and started through traffic, driving away from the hospital. The car was silent as they drove through the busy morning streets of New York. Jackie looked ahead at the traffic, trying to estimate in her head how long it may take to get home. It'd be a little bit.

Jackie squeezed Eric's hand as he seemed to scoot closer to her. Eric leaned his head against hers and Jackie put a hand on his knee in a comforting way.

"How's he doing back—" Kitty asked, but cut herself off when she saw the way they were leaning against each other, and she smiled before turning back to look ahead at the traffic.

The four sat in silence for a little while as Andrea weaved in and out of traffic impatiently. Eric leaned against Jackie, feeling relaxed for once. They drove for ten more minutes before Andrea started getting annoyed with the guy in front of him going ten miles under the speed limit. He sighed in annoyance, and Kitty noticed his fingers tapping on the steering wheel impatiently.

"Just calm down, Andrea, we'll get there eventually," Kitty assured him, patting him gently on the arm.

Andrea didn't seem to notice she had spoken, because he just glared at the man in the car in front of him, "Would you pick up the pace, old man?!"

"Andrea, sweetheart—" But Kitty was cut off when the car in front of them hit their brakes, causing Andrea to do the same.

Andrea laid it down on the horn and yelled in Italian, as he usually did when he was angry, "Sei pezzo di merda! Vaffanculo!"

Kitty flinched and the two in the back seat snickered at Andrea's reaction. Kitty said to Andrea, sort of nervously, "Andrea, sweetheart, you don't have to get so upset."

"Why not? This asshole is trying to put a dent in my car!" Andrea then laid on the horn again, trying to get the guy moving again, but the driver ahead of him didn't seem to take so kind to this.

The guy ahead of them opened their car door, and Kitty froze, seemingly in fear, "Oh God…"

The man ahead of them was quite tall and a little bulky. He turned around and walked towards them, and Kitty flinched when she saw Andrea rolling down his window, "Andrea, don't do that…"

But he did anyway. He rested his arm on the door as the much larger man stopped and bent over to get a better look at Andrea, and he himself seemed annoyed, "I'd advise you to stop honking your horn at me."

"I would not have to if you learned how to drive," Andrea snapped, glaring at the man in annoyance.

"Andrea…" Kitty tried, anxiety welling up inside of her.

"I don't really think you want to be messing with me little man," The older man snapped, glaring down at Andrea, who seemed unfazed, as if he's dealt with this type before.

"No, I think it is me who you do not want to be messing with," Andrea snapped.

"Oh, is that right?" The man asked with a sort of smug smile before he reached forward and grabbed the chest of Andrea's shirt, pulling him forward as far as he could go, "I'll beat you to a pulp, you asshole."

"You better let go of me, or things will get ugly," Andrea warned him, nobody in the car knew what he was going to do.

"You're funny," The man who had a hold on his shirt smiled sarcastically.

Andrea slightly shrugged his shoulders and quickly reached into the glove compartment behind him and pulled out his sharp pocket knife and now pointed it at the man, who lurched back just a little.

"Now let me go," Andrea snapped.

The man, now a little tense, slowly released Andrea and stepped back a little, holding up his hands in defense, "A-alright… Sorry, man. It won't happen again."

"Yeah," Andrea snapped smugly as he put the knife back in the glove compartment as the man quickly rushed back to his car.

"How long have you had that?" Jackie asked in surprise, a little impressed with how Andrea handled that situation.

"My father gave it to me for my thirteenth birthday," Andrea replied as the man ahead of him started moving forward again.

"Have you used it before?" Eric asked curiously.

Andrea shook his head, "Only to scare off assholes like that one."

Eric and Jackie snickered at Andrea, the man who was just full of surprises. Eric noticed how tense his mom was and he sarcastically said, "Welcome to New York, mom."

Kitty just looked at him in mild annoyance, anxiety still overwhelming her.

0-0-0-0-0

"We're home!" Jackie called as the four of them entered the apartment.

As soon as she spoke, the three children came running around the corner, the biggest smiles on their faces.

"Eric!" They all yelled as they attacked them with a hug.

He laughed, but winced a little, "Be easy."

"Sorry," Peyton said, softening her grip around him, but she still hugged him.

"You're home just in time for my birthday!" Bruno cried, peering up at Eric.

"You know I wouldn't miss it," Eric smiled down at the boy, "Happy birthday, buddy."

The three kids slowly pulled away from Eric and Bruno beamed up at him, "Auntie Rachel got me a birthday cake, you wanna see?"

Eric smiled and nodded, "Sure thing."

Bruno then grabbed Eric's hand and pulled him towards the kitchen, but slowly and being careful. Kitty and Jackie smiled at they went around the corner, the others greeting Eric in the kitchen.

"He already seems happier," Kitty smiled as she looked towards the kitchen.

Jackie nodded, "It was that hospital. He hated it in there. To be honest, I was getting quite tired of it myself."

Kitty was quiet for a moment as she looked at Jackie, trying to figure out how to ask her this question. So she just went for it, "What were two arguing about that night?"

Jackie flinched and whipped her head around to face Kitty, "W-what?"

"I can tell it was you two that were arguing," Kitty said with a small smile, "The way you two have been acting around each other… I know you two are in a relationship and something happened. It's like he's been afraid to even look at you this past week… What happened?"

Jackie sighed and looked down at her feet, "He… I… I caught him kissing another girl."

This seemed to surprise Kitty. Eric did this? Her Eric? She can't imagine that even happening, "He what?"

Jackie shook her head, "Long story short, David dared Eric to do it and Eric was drunk and stupid and he went for it."

"Well… Do you forgive him?" Kitty asked in concern.

"Well… Kind of," Jackie said, shrugging, "I'm still a little mad though. He still betrayed my trust."

"But you can't be completely angry at him," Kitty said in understanding, "You love him."

"Am I that obvious?" Jackie asked with an incredulous smile as she looked up at Kitty. How did everyone know?

"Yes," Kitty giggled, "But so is he… I always kind of hoped you two would get together."

"Really?" Jackie asked with a smile.

Kitty nodded, "I always liked it when you came around our house. You would talk to me and, even back then when you were still under all that peer pressure, you were really sweet. You and Eric seemed to have more in common than him and Donna."

"It's too bad I didn't see it sooner," Jackie shrugged.

"What's important is you're together now," Kitty assured her with a sweet smile, "That's all that matters."

"Thanks, Mrs. Forman," Jackie smiled, "I could always come to you, and you always knew what to say."

Kitty smiled at her as Bruno called out, "Jackie! Mrs. Kitty! I'm getting ready to blow out the candles! Hurry!"

Jackie snickered and turned to Kitty, "Duty calls."

Kitty smiled and the two walked to the kitchen to celebrate Bruno's eighth birthday with the rest of the family.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N – Sorry guys, I had a family emergency this past weekend, but don't worry, everything's okay. Sorry if this chapter seems a little rushed, I tried. I've had a little case of writer's block recently, but I don't think this chapter's too bad. There is some smut, but like my last scene, it's not super graphic or anything, so… Anyway, I hope you guys like it.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

September 7, 1985

"You take care, now," Kitty said as she hugged her son, getting ready to head back to Wisconsin. They were leaving a bit late, but Kitty wanted to spend as much time as she could with her son.

"I will, mom," Eric said, returning his mother's hug.

"Don't you ever do anything that stupid again," Kitty scolded him, tightening her arms around him.

"I won't," Eric said softly, tolerating his mother's death grip around him, "I promise."

"Okay," Kitty said quietly, forcing herself to let go of Eric, "Be good. Take care of those kids… You got a good little family up here."

Eric smiled, "I know."

Kitty smiled up at him, her eyes glassy as she tried to hold back tears, "Talk to Jackie. Make sure she knows you love her."

Eric frowned and nodded, knowing he'd have to apologize to Jackie tonight. And really apologize this time, "I will. Trust me."

"Okay… Well…" Kitty sighed as she finally stepped back away from Eric, "We better get going. The others are probably wanting to get a move on."

Eric smiled sweetly at his mother, "I'll see you later, mom."

"Alright," She said, smiling a sad smile, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Eric said in return.

Kitty smiled one final smile at her youngest before she finally turned and got into the car, sitting in the passenger seat next to Hyde. Hyde threw his hand out the window and waved to Eric, "See you later, Forman."

"See you, Hyde," Eric waved back.

His sister and Donna also waved at him as Hyde put the car in drive and pulled out onto the road, leaving Eric alone on the sidewalk. Eric only stood there for a minute before he turned and went back inside, going through Andrea's bar and going upstairs to the apartment.

It was quiet when he went inside, the only sound was the volume of the TV. The kids were in bed, David was over at Maya's, and Ayrton was already passed out on the couch. Andrea had gone to bed early, feeling a little sick.

Eric sighed before he quietly made his way to his and Jackie's bedroom. He pushed the door open and peered inside, seeing Jackie standing in front of the wall mirror and brushing her hair. Eric smiled sweetly as he pushed the door all the open and he stepped inside, "Hey."

Jackie glanced over at him, but kept brushing her hair, "You finally get your mom to let go of you?"

"Yeah," Eric chuckled, closing the door behind him, but he kept by the door, nervous to even step towards her.

He wanted to things to go back to normal, but he knew it wasn't that easy. She said she forgave him, but there was still an anxious tension in the air. She was still mad at him, she just didn't show it. Jackie released a sigh and put down her hairbrush, running her fingers through her soft brown hair.

"We should just get this out of the way," Eric said, avoiding Jackie's gaze, "I should apologize."

"Okay," Was all Jackie could say, nervous herself to talk about this, even though she did nothing wrong.

"I'm really sorry," Eric said softly, forcing his eyes to look into hers, "I'm a huge idiot. I shouldn't have listened to David, I should have known what I did was going to have consequences. I'll never do anything like that again, I swear."

"Seeing you kiss another girl really hurt me, Eric," Jackie said, looking down at her hands.

"I know," Eric said, bravely taking a step towards her, "It went way further than I thought it was going to, she… You know what? I'm not going to make excuses for myself, it was my fault."

"David told me she kind of forced herself on you," Jackie said, but she kept her gaze cast downward.

"I still shouldn't have even done it," Eric said, taking another step towards her, "I'm sorry."

"I know you are," Jackie said, her voice low.

"Can you ever forgive me?" Eric asked, slumping his shoulders, gazing across the room at her.

Jackie sighed and furrowed her brow in slight anger, "I was so mad at you… I cried for the longest time after I saw you and that woman. I didn't know what to do with myself," Jackie looked up at him slightly, "But then… We got the call that you had been in an accident, and… And I cried some more. I was so worried about you. I didn't know what I'd do without you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Eric gazed at her sadly, his shoulders loose and his eyes sad and shameful. Jackie looked back down at her hands again, her fingers playing with each other anxiously.

"I thought you hated me," Jackie said, "When we got to the hospital we didn't know anything. We didn't know how bad of shape you were in. If… if… If the worst case scenario happened, I couldn't live with myself. The last thing I said to you was for you to leave me alone… And I hit you. I couldn't live knowing that could have been the last thing I said to you."

"Jackie…" Eric said as he inched closer to her, "I don't hate you. You have a right to be mad. I was a complete jackass. I mean, yeah, after you hit me I was mad. But… I knew that I was in the wrong. I had no right to be mad at you."

"Eric," Jackie said as she turned to face him, but he cut her off again.

"I know you feel bad for yelling at me and all that stuff, but…" Eric released a tense breath before he continued, "But I don't hate you, trust me. I never could. No matter what happened between us."

Jackie smiled a sad smile, finally looking up at him as the two got quiet. Eric looked down at his feet now, anxiety starting to build again.

"Look, even if you didn't catch me kissing that woman, I was still going to tell you," Eric told her honestly.

"I know," Jackie said with a small smile as she reached out and grabbed Eric's hand gently.

"I promise I'll never do something that stupid ever again," Eric said, his voice shaking with nervousness.

"Surprisingly, you've done dumber things," Jackie smiled.

Eric finally let himself smile and he rolled his eyes, making Jackie giggle as she tightened her grip on his hand. Eric sighed again and looked down at their entwined hands, saying again, "I'm really, really sorry, Jackie."

"I know, Eric," Jackie smiled as she too looked down at their hands.

"I was afraid you were going to leave me," Eric said sadly, avoiding her gaze.

Jackie gazed sadly up at him and shook her head, "I'd never do that."

Eric looked up into her eyes curiously, "I thought you would after that."

Jackie shook her head, "I love you. I could never leave you."

Eric smiled and squeezed her hand gently, "I love you, too."

Then they got silent, their eyes glued to each other's. Jackie grabbed Eric's other hand, keeping her eyes on his. Eric was too nervous to do anything, afraid to do anything. Jackie took a tiny step closer to him, her small hands fitting in his perfectly. Eric gazed down at her as she got closer. He couldn't believe her. He couldn't believe she had forgiven him so easily. He was the luckiest man alive, he was sure.

Jackie ran her hands up his arms, one stopping on his shoulder and the other snaking up to the back of his head, her fingers tangling in his thick hair. She pulled him towards her and gently kissed him. Eric slowly moved his hands to rest on her hips and he was pleasantly surprised when she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him as close to her as he could go. He grunted a small noise of surprise at her action, but quickly relaxed into her embrace as he wrapped his arms around her.

This was their first kiss in two weeks. They were barely ever together alone at the hospital, and the tension was still thick then. This was the best kiss Jackie's ever experienced, Eric's too.

They finally pulled apart after a minute or so, both of them trying to catch their breath. They stayed close, but after a minute Jackie wrapped her arms around Eric and pulled him close, resting her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and releasing a nervous breath.

"Jackie…?" Eric said quietly, trying to look down at her.

Jackie kept her eyes closed as she muttered, "I'm so glad you're okay."

Her voice was trembling as she spoke, as if she were trying to keep herself composed. Eric rubbed her back soothingly, trying his best to comfort her.

"I'm okay," Eric said as he saw a few tears escape her eyes and fall down her cheeks, "I'm not going anywhere…"

Jackie sniffed, trying to keep herself from completely losing it. She felt Eric's hands on her upper arms and he gently pulled her away from him, looking down into her eyes, his own soft and concerned. He brought his hands up and wiped her tears away with his thumbs before he moved his hand into her hair, pushing a loose strand behind her ear.

"You alright?" Eric asked with a small smile.

Jackie smiled back and nodded, wiping her eye, "Yeah, I'm okay…"

"I should be the one crying here," Eric joked, making Jackie giggle a little bit.

"You're a dork," Jackie smiled as she gripped the fabric of his shirt in her fists.

"So I've been told," Eric smiled back.

Jackie rolled her eyes, but kept her smile. She caught eyes with Eric again, feeling several different emotions course through her. She was happy, sad, and anxious all at one time. She could hardly believe he was here, that night two weeks ago really scared her. Jackie brought her hands back up to his shoulders, tugging him down so she could kiss him again. Their lips met with more passion this time than before, this kiss somehow being better than the last.

The both relaxed into the kiss much quicker this time, Eric pulling Jackie as close to him as she could go. Jackie's small hands slid down to his chest as she moaned quietly, earning a small smirk from Eric. She felt Eric's hands slip underneath her shirt, tugging up on it slightly, now earning a small smile from her.

Eric tugged on her shirt a little harder this time, getting a bit braver as their kiss went on. Jackie almost wanted to tease him, make him fight for it, as a sort of revenge for what he did, but she wasn't sure if she'd be able to hold out.

When Jackie was stuck in her head, Eric had managed to pull her shirt off of her. He was pleasantly surprised when he found she wasn't even wearing a bra, and he felt his face heat up at that fact. Eric tossed her shirt to the side as his hands mapped out her smooth skin. Eric gently broken their kiss and kissed her along her jaw and neck. She was surprised at how brave he had suddenly become, he wasn't usually like this in a moment of passion.

Eric's hands moved down to her hips, his fingers slipping under her waistband. Jackie's face was crimson red as he continued to kiss down her neck. Jackie suddenly pushed her hands to his shoulders and pushed him back a little, trying to catch her breath.

"Eric…" Jackie breathed quietly, looking up at him only slightly, "You're making revenge harder than it needs to be."

"Am I?" Eric asked with a smug smile.

"Yes, you are," Jackie said, trying to hold up a strong front, but it quickly crumbled again as his hands ventured further down her body.

He was gently tugging at her pants now, and Jackie wanted to help him, but being her stubborn self, she tried holding out. It wasn't really working though. She felt the corners of her mouth peek into a smile as her hands gripped his shoulders, and before she could say anything else, her pajama bottoms and underwear were on the floor.

"How's that revenge going?" Eric asked with a slight chuckle.

"Not well," Jackie said, slightly annoyed, but she was smiling. She looked him up and down and sighed irritably, "How is that you're still dressed? I'm supposed to have the upper hand here."

"You can't lead everything, Jackie," Eric said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.

"I can, and I will," Jackie said stubbornly as she grabbed the hem of his shirt and quickly ripped it off of him, which surprised even him.

"Well, that was fast," Eric said, his eyes wide with surprise.

Jackie smirked as she pushed her hands to his shoulders and pushed him back towards their bed. Now he was getting nervous, he figured it would eventually lead to this. Jackie brought her hands down to his waistband now and started to take off his pants, Eric frozen with surprise at how quickly this escalated. Before he knew it, his pants and underwear were across the room with hers and she pushed him back onto the bed, crawling on top of him.

Eric wasn't having this, not tonight. He grabbed her around the waist and rolled them over, so that now he was on top for once. Jackie gasped a small noise of surprise and gazed up at him with wide hazel eyes.

"You're not in charge tonight, Jackie," Eric with a small smile, "It's my turn."

"Well look at you," Jackie teased, though she was still surprised at his bravery, "Finally taking a stand, huh?"

"Obviously," He chuckled before he leaned down and kissed her on the mouth quickly before moving down to her jaw and neck again.

She moved her hands to the back of his head, pushing her fingers into his thick hair as she suppressed a small moan. She relaxed back into the mattress as he teased her skin with his hands, making her groan his name.

He leaned closer to her as her legs wrapped his hips, pulling down on top of her. Eric knew then that he had finally broke her, she had given in. As he kissed her neck he felt her fingernails dig into his shoulders, making him wince a little, but he powered on.

"Eric…" She moaned quietly, not being able to take much more, "Please…"

Eric smiled at that. He's never done this to her, she was begging for him. It must have been all that time with them not even touching one another, barely speaking to each other, at least normally anyway. He couldn't believe what all of that had done to her.

Eric moved back up to her mouth again and kissed her passionately, her hands relaxing on his back. Eric brought one hand up to her face, to deepen the kiss and as he did that, he felt her legs tighten around his waist. Eric smiled against her lips as aligned his hips with hers and with one swift movement, he gently pushed into her. Jackie moaned and her fingernails once again dug into his shoulders, but harder this time, making Eric groan in slight pain.

He gently broke the kiss and looked down at Jackie, her chest rising and falling a little quickly. He smiled down at her as she brought her hands up to his face, stroking his jaw lovingly.

"You alright?" Eric asked sweetly, gazing down into her loving hazel eyes.

Jackie felt her heart swell at the question. Even when he was trying to be 'on top,' he still had to ask her if she was comfortable with what they were doing. Jackie smiled and stroked his hair softly, "I'm fine."

Eric looked at her for a moment longer before he kissed her again, but it didn't last as long as the previous few times, it was quick and sweet. He kissed on the cheek just a moment later as she wrapped her arms around his neck and groaned his name as he began to move into her.

Jackie kept her arms glued around him as they continued their venture, relishing every moment she had with him. She kept her fingers tangled in his hair as she felt him tenderly kiss her along her jaw. She gasped his name again as he continued to move, her arms tightening around his neck, silently begging for more.

Jackie inhaled sharply as he began to push into her harder, her fingernails leaving scratch marks on his shoulders and back. Jackie threw her head back against the bed, feeling Eric's hands move up and down her body. Eric wrapped one arm around her middle, keeping her close. Jackie's hands moved down to his shoulders, though her fingernails continued to dig into his skin, something Eric was used to at this point.

Jackie gasped his name again as their hips continued to meet. He lowered his head a little and quietly told her he loved her, and at that Jackie smiled a little. Eric finally groaned her name, which made her happy.

Jackie kept her legs tight around Eric's waist, her hands firmly glued to his shoulders, mindful of his still healing injuries. Eric cradled Jackie carefully in his grasp, feeling one of her hands move to the back of his head again, her fingers rubbing into his scalp gently. He kissed Jackie on the cheek again before he nuzzled is face into her neck. Jackie and Eric both were trying to catch their breath as they continued to move against each other.

Eric moaned her name again, and the sound of it sent goosebumps down Jackie's arms and back. She beamed a loving smile and kept her grip on him tight. Jackie felt Eric's teeth sink into her shoulder, making her cry out a little and gasp his name once more. Jackie's heart was about to beat right out of her chest, she was sure of it.

They continued on like this for a few more minutes, but that was as long as they could handle. Both of them inhaled a sharp breath as Eric pushed into her one final time, both of them calling out each other's names. Jackie dug her fingernails into Eric's shoulders as hard as she could, definitely leaving marks with this one.

Jackie finally slumped into the bed, exhausted as Eric relaxed on top of her, both of them trying to catch their breaths. Jackie's hands gripped the bedsheets as they both tried to recover from their moment of passion.

They panted for a few moments, eventually finding their breath. Eric gently supported himself on his elbows as he looked down at her, a small smile on his face, "Wow…"

"That was…" Jackie tried thinking of something, but all she could say was, "Wow…"

Eric chuckled at her before he leaned down a planted a kiss on her cheek, "Is all forgiven?"

Jackie nodded, "Definitely."

Eric smiled again and leaned down, placing a kiss on her lips this time. She brought a hand to the side of his face, leaning into the kiss, but now she felt exhausted. These past few weeks had really taken it out of her, she was sure Eric felt the same.

A moment later the kiss was broken and Eric gently got off of Jackie and they both went to lay underneath the blankets. Jackie rested under Eric's arm, her head leaning against his shoulder.

"I love you," Jackie said after a moment of silence, stroking his arm.

"I love you, too," Eric smiled down at her.

"I'm really glad you're okay," Jackie said quietly, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Me too," Eric said quietly, gazing up at the ceiling.

Then, the two were silent, both of them just happy to be in each other's arms.

0-0-0-0-0

December 31, 1985

"I'm gonna make it," Bruno told himself, rubbing his tired eyes, "I'm gonna make it to midnight."

"You alright, buddy?" Eric asked with a light chuckle as he looked down at the tired eight year old.

David had somehow convinced them to come out to Times Square for New Year's Eve. Leo and Bruno were both extremely tired, but Leo couldn't sleep because of all the noise, and Bruno was just determined to stay up until midnight.

"I'm fine," Bruno said, a little grumpy, "Everything's fine."

Eric smiled down at the boy and shook his head before he directed his attention back towards the stage where Tears for Fears was playing their smash hit. Eric found it annoying, but he still sang along. Everybody in the crowd seemed to be having a good time, but of course they were, they were all drunk. Even Andrea was drinking, which was a pleasant surprise.

Eric's injuries had long healed by now. His ribs healed pretty quickly actually, it only took about six weeks. His wrist cast came off in the middle of November, and he just finished physical therapy at the beginning of the month. He was pretty much back to normal at this point.

Jackie was under his arm, trying to keep warm from the chilly New York winter weather. Ayrton was holding Leo, sort of dancing with him, trying to keep him distracted from the cold, and Andrea was hugging Bruno close to him, keeping him shielded from the wind. Peyton was having a blast, she thought this was the coolest thing ever.

They were getting pretty close to the countdown now, the hosts of Dick Clarke's Rockin' Eve have been around a few times, asking questions to the crowd. The kids enjoyed knowing they were on national TV.

"This is so cool!" Peyton exclaimed as she looked up at the stage, "I love this band!"

"You've said that about every band that's preformed tonight," Jackie said sarcastically.

"That's because I love every band," Peyton said in a matter of fact way.

Jackie snickered and rolled her eyes as the teenage girl peered up at the performers on stage, her hands clasped as she jumped up and down in girly glee. The band went on with their song for a few more minutes, and when they finished, the crowd applauded and cheered.

Jackie shivered as she looked up at the clock; they were about to do the countdown. She was having a good time, but she was also ready to go back home, it was a little too cold for her comfort. Jackie released a breath, her whole body being met with another shiver as the crowd began counting down from sixty seconds.

Everyone was excited, as they usually were when it turned to a new year. Jackie looked up at the clock as it counted down. Fifty, then forty, thirty, and twenty. Then it was ten.

"Nine!" The crowd cried, ready to start 1986.

"Eight!" Jackie looked down at Peyton, her eyes were full of cheer.

"Seven!" Bruno was excited, happy he had actually made it midnight.

"Six!" Rachel clung to Andrea, her eyes watching the clock, as were his.

"Five!" The crowd became more excited as they got down to the final seconds.

"Four!" Leo was looking around in confusion, not really sure what was going on.

"Three!" Jackie felt Eric's arm tighten around her shoulders, she leaned her head against his chest, "Two!"

"One! Happy New Year!" Everyone cried, confetti falling down upon them as people cheered and Frank Sinatra's classic song played over Times Square.

Jackie had to admit, this was pretty cool. She was sort of glad David talked them into this. The kids and Ayrton were now trying to catch the confetti falling down around them, and Jackie smiled when she saw Andrea and Rachel kissing, David and Maya doing the same thing, and the next thing she knew, Eric was kissing her.

The kiss only lasted a moment, as they all heard a female voice from somewhere around them talking about all the kissing couples. Eric and Jackie pulled apart and saw it was one of the host's for the show and she had stopped in front of them.

The woman turned to face the couple and smiled kindly at them, "Here's a couple that I think I interrupted. What are your names?"

"I'm Eric, and this is Jackie," Eric replied with a smile, his arm wrapped firmly around Jackie.

"I thought you looked familiar," The host said to Jackie, but she didn't make a big deal out of it, "Is there anything you two would like to say?"

"Actually, yes," Eric said quickly before he pulled away from Jackie and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small box and grabbed Jackie's hand, before he got down on one knee like tradition.

"Eric..." Jackie said quietly, covering her mouth with her hand in surprise, the host gasping in surprise as well.

"Jackie," Eric started, holding Jackie's hand gently, "I've gone most of my life having not realized that I need you in my life. I mean yes, we used to not get along, but… Even back then, I feel like there was always something. When we reconnected after all those years apart, I fell in love right away."

Jackie felt the tears well up in her eyes, she gripped his hand tightly in hers, feeling a dozen different emotions go through her in that moment.

"I love you, so much, and I know you love me too," Eric went on, trying himself to stay composed, "I want to make you happy, that's all I've ever wanted. So, Jackie Burkhart…"

Their friends around them watched on in silent excitement, the unknowing tension in the air thick, even the host seemed anxious. Jackie felt her breath hitch in her throat as Eric released her hand and went to open the small box, a wide, somewhat bashful smile on his face. Jackie felt happy tears rolling down her face as she tried to keep herself under control, now she was beaming so much her cheeks hurt. Eric opened the small box gently, presenting the gorgeous silver ring to Jackie. Eric gazed into her eyes nervously, yet with excitement.

"Will you marry me?" Eric asked sincerely, his heart pounding hard in his chest.

Jackie couldn't believe it. She gazed into Eric's sweet, loving eyes, holding her breath anxiously. Her heart was pounding just as much as Eric's, maybe harder. She's been dreaming of this moment since she was a little girl, back then she would have never thought it'd be Eric Forman down on one knee, gazing up at her with all the adoration in the world. Jackie heard a few people in the crowd around them clap, a few whistled, one man even shouted at her to say yes. Jackie smiled and giggled happily as she began to nod her head.

"Yes," Jackie giggled again, sniffling as she hopped up and down in excitement, "Yes Eric, I will marry you."

Eric smiled wide, feeling like he was the happiest man alive, he swears he was. Jackie smiled as she watched Eric slide the engagement ring onto her finger. It was so pretty, how could he afford this? As soon as Eric got to his feet, Jackie attacked him with a hug, squeezing him tight. When she hugged him it knocked the wind right out of Eric, but he chuckled and wrapped his arms around her as well.

They heard the crowd around them cheer for them, and that made Jackie and Eric smile even wider, if that was even possible. Jackie and Eric pulled away, but only for a minute, because then Jackie kissed him right there in front of everybody. The host was beaming and clapping for them. Jackie couldn't think of a more romantic way to propose to her. America just watched them get engaged, Jackie couldn't believe it.

The newly engaged couple pulled away after a moment and Eric smiled down at Jackie before he said, "I love you."

Jackie smiled incredulously, in slight disbelief of what just happened as she kissed Eric again, and she felt him smile against her lips.

"Congratulations," The host smiled as the two broke the kiss once again.

"Thanks," The two smiled at her, still wrapped in each other's arms.

The couple were then attacked with a group hug with the two older children, both of them beaming up at the two. Peyton smiled and said, "I'm so happy for you two!"

"Me too!" Bruno beamed, hopping up and down in excitement, "Now our family can be complete!"

Eric and Jackie smiled down at Bruno as he and his sister beamed with happiness and excitement.

"Congratulations," Ayrton smiled as he stepped over to the two.

"We are all very happy for you two," Andrea said with a smile, his arm still hung over Rachel's shoulders.

"I knew it wouldn't be long and you guys would get engaged," David smiled sarcastically as he hugged Maya to him.

Jackie rolled her eyes as Eric nudged her, looking down at her hand, "You like your ring?"

Jackie looked down at the sterling silver. It was beautiful, the diamond wasn't huge, but it was pretty. It was a really nice ring, she just wanted to know how he could afford something like this on a teacher's salary.

"It's beautiful, Eric," Jackie smiled up at him, keeping her arms wrapped around his waist, "I love it."

"I saw that in the shop window a couple months ago and I knew that was the one I had to get," Eric said with a small shrug, "I wanted the perfect ring for the perfect girl."

Jackie giggled and said, "That was cheesy."

Eric smiled and nodded, "I know, but I'm good at it."

Jackie giggled again and tightened her arms around him, leaning in to kiss him again, smiling the whole time. This year was just full of surprises, some good, some bad, but in the end, everything worked out okay. Everything was perfect.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N – I'm back! Thank you for reviewing, it's always a pleasure to read them. This is the wedding chapter, I hope I did okay. The story's getting near the end, but there are a few more chapters left, but it has to end sometime, but of course, I will be writing other stories. I've got an idea for another one I'll be writing after this one, and it's a bit of a downer, but I'm good at writing that kind of stuff. At least I think so, anyway. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

March 22, 1986

"How's that look, Mrs. Forman?" Peyton asked as she arranged a vase of flowers in the center of one of the tables.

"That looks perfect, dear," Kitty smiled at the teenager, "And please, call me Kitty."

"Gammie!" A now four year old Leo cried as he ran over to the woman, holding a piece of paper in his hands and he had a big smile on his face.

Kitty smiled down at the boy and looked down at what he was holding, "What's this?"

"I dwew it for you," He said, a little out of breath as he started pointing at everybody, "See wook! It's me, Bwuno, and Peyton. And wook, it's daddy, mommy, you, and gampa."

"Grandpa?" Kitty asked with a small smile, "You don't even know what he looks like, how'd you draw him?"

"Daddy showed me a picure," Leo smiled, very proud of his work, "He towd me he was vewy cool."

Kitty smiled sadly at the boy, "He was very cool."

"Here! Take it home wif you," Leo said, handing the drawing to Kitty, "Put it on your fwidge."

Kitty smiled sweetly at Leo, "I will."

Peyton smiled at the scene as Leo ran over to her, smiling happily. Kitty smiled down at the drawing. Leo was still the only one out of the three children that called her grandma, and the only one that called Jackie and Eric, mom and dad.

"Wow," A voice suddenly said from behind her, making Kitty turn around and see Jackie approaching her, a wide smile on her face, "Everything looks great, Mrs. Forman."

Kitty smiled and sighed, "For the last time, would you stop calling me that."

Jackie smiled, "Sorry, it's habit, I guess."

"You like it?" Kitty then asked, looking around the room where the after party would take place tomorrow.

Jackie nodded and beamed, "It's beautiful. You know how to dress up a room."

"Eighteen years of throwing surprise parties for Eric will make you pretty good at it," Kitty smiled, looking around the room that she was very proud of.

"Seventeen," Jackie corrected, "Remember? Eric got upset when you didn't throw him a party for his eighteenth birthday?"

Kitty then laughed her signature laugh, "Oh yeah!"

Jackie giggled and looked over the room. There were at least a dozen tables for all of their closest family and friends to sit at. There were white tablecloths over each of them and pretty blue, white, and yellow flowers in vases in the centers. There was, of course, the cake table and some other tables where they would set out food and drinks. There were streamers hung up on some of the pillars that were the same colors of the flowers. It was really beautiful.

Jackie had her maid of honor, Kitty. Kitty always wanted to be maid of honor, and Jackie thought it would just make her day if she asked her to be it. Of course, Kitty was filled with excitement when she was asked. Peyton was a bridesmaid, as was Rachel, Donna and Laurie. She even asked Betsy to be one. Jackie's friend from work had a one year old little girl named Arianna, and she was going to be the flower girl.

Eric had his groomsmen all picked out. David, Ayrton, Steven, Kelso, and Fez. He had co-best men though. Andrea was his first pick, but Eric also asked Bruno, who thought that was the coolest thing ever. Leo was going to be their little ring bearer.

Some of Jackie's friends from work were coming, as were some of Eric's. Jackie was starting to get nervous now, which she was expecting. It was the day before their wedding. She knew Eric was nervous too, but it was more noticeable with him. He had some anxiety issues, he always has. It's been worse since his dad passed, and now more than ever because of their wedding.

"Okay, so we got everything settled," Peyton suddenly said as she stepped over to the two older women, Leo trailing right behind her, "We got decorations, catering, we have to go and pick up the cake after we leave here… Is there anything we're missing?"

"I don't think so," Jackie said, shaking her head. Peyton has been a big help with planning this wedding. She was so excited for the two, and has been since Eric proposed to Jackie back on New Year's Eve, which Jackie thinks is the most romantic thing that's ever happened to her.

"Well, when we get here tomorrow, everything should be in place," Peyton said, looking around the room, "It looks stunning, doesn't it?"

"It does," Jackie said, smiling at the girl who was just as tall as her now, "You did a great job, Peyton."

Peyton smiled at Jackie, "Thanks."

Jackie gazed at her for a moment more before she looked down at Leo, who was looking around the room as well, he just didn't really seem to care as much as the women did.

"Alright, let's go get us some dinner," Jackie said, making Leo turn his attention towards her.

He beamed up at her and nodded, "Yeah! I'm hungwy!"

"Well, come on then," Jackie said, lifting the small child and grunting as she did so, "You're getting heavy, kid. You been working out?"

Leo giggled and shook his head, "No."

Jackie smiled at him and fixed his shirt where it had ridden up a little before she looked back at the two girls standing around her before they all headed for the exit, nervous excitement building up inside of all of them.

0-0-0-0-0

March 23, 1986

"God… I'm so nervous," Jackie said as she stood there with Andrea who had kindly offered to walk her down the isle since her dad was, well… In jail, "I think I'm going to be sick."

"You're fine," Andrea said with a small smile, trying to ease Jackie's worries.

"What if something goes wrong?" Jackie asked as she fixed a loose strand of hair, "What if I trip or something?"

"The only one that should be worried about tripping is me," Andrea joked.

Jackie rolled her eyes and inhaled a deep breath, butterflies ever so present in her stomach. She's never been so nervous in all of her life.

"You are thinking about it too much," Andrea said calmly, "What? Are you taking lessons from me?"

Jackie snickered as Andrea continued, "Look at you, Jackie. You look beautiful. Everything will go fine, I promise."

Jackie smiled a little at Andrea, who looked anxious just showing a little bit of emotion, "Thanks, Andrea."

"No problem," Andrea smiled sweetly, avoiding her eyes as usual.

"You guys ready?" Jackie's friend from work, Georgie, suddenly asked as she entered the room, her small daughter Arianna standing in front of her, carrying a small basket of flower pedals.

Jackie looked the Andrea who gave her a reassuring look and nodded curtly. Jackie released a tense, nervous breath and looked to Georgie, nodding, "Yeah… I'm ready."

Jackie sucked in a sharp breath as she heard the soft music start to play and her heart started pounding harder when the doors opened in front of her. The little girl in front of her followed her mother out and took several steps ahead of her, throwing a few flower pedals here and there along the path.

They were having the ceremony at a nice little outdoor area, it wasn't huge, but it was very pretty. There were a few big pretty trees with little white flowers on them, and the grass was as green as could be. They had to travel about an hour to get here, but it was worth it. It was breathtaking.

Jackie slipped her arm into the nook of Andrea's elbow as he slowly but surely guided her down the path. As they walked outside, the crowd around them stood politely, all eyes on the beautiful bride. Jackie saw all of her friends and family out here. June, Steven's fiancée, was smiling at her, very happy for Jackie. Fez's wife was there with their now one year son, who looked like his mother. Brooke was gazing over at Jackie, the biggest smile on her face as she held her and Kelso's newborn son, Markus, who was the most adorable baby on the planet, Jackie was sure.

Jackie then looked up ahead and saw all of her old friends beaming at her, and then she saw Eric. He looked dashing, and very nervous. He had his hands politely folded by his waist as he smiled sweetly at her, his hazel eyes full of nervous tension, but also the sweetest adoration he could offer for his soon to be wife.

Jackie inhaled deeply as Andrea led her to where her groom, the bridesmaids, and groomsmen all resided. Jackie smiled at Eric as they reached the end of the path, then she turned to Andrea, grabbing his hand and gently squeezing it.

"Thank you, Andrea," Jackie said sweetly.

Andrea smiled back at her and nodded kindly, "I was happy to do it."

Jackie squeezed his hand one more time before he kindly handed her over to Eric. Jackie looked back up at her nervous husband to be and gently reached out her hand and took hold of his as Andrea took his place with the groomsmen. Eric cleaned up nicely, he usually didn't care too much about his appearance. He always wore band t-shirts, baggy and/or ripped up jeans, and his dirty converse sneakers. His hair was generally never messed with, Jackie was certain he never ran a comb or brush through it. But now he looked amazing in his dashing black tux. His hair was combed neatly and he even wore nice shoes. Jackie was pretty sure he only owned those converse. He probably rented these.

"Wow Jackie…" Eric said quietly, looking her up and down as he held both of her smaller hands in his, "You look gorgeous."

"Thanks Eric," Jackie said as she blushed a little bit, "So do you."

The preacher looked between the two with a small, gentle smile, "Ready?"

When the two nodded, he cleared his throat quietly and motioned for the small crowd to be seated before he began to speak, "Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of these witnesses to join Eric Forman and Jackie Burkhart in matrimony commended to be honorable among all; and therefor is not to be entered into lightly but reverently, passionately, lovingly, and solemnly. Into this, these two persons present now come to be joined. If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

The small crowd stayed silent and the preacher went on. He recited a short prayer about love and peace as Eric and Jackie kept their hands joined tightly, both set of hands trembling slightly. After the preacher said amen, everyone lifted their heads and looked back at the couple. He then looked over at Eric, a small smile on his aged face.

"Do you, Eric Forman, take Jackie Burkhart to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to have and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?" The preacher asked as he looked up at Eric.

"I do," Eric said, his voice shaking with nervous excitement as he squeezed Jackie's hands gently.

"And do you, Jackie Burkhart, take Eric Forman to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to have and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?" The preacher asked Jackie, smiling softly at her.

"I do," Jackie smiled sweetly.

"May we have the rings?" The preacher asked, looking down at the small child who held them on a small, soft pillow.

He stepped up to the couple and held the pillow up and presented the rings. The preacher looked to Jackie, signaling that she go first. Jackie gently broke her and Eric's contact with each other and reached down and picked up his ring before turning to Eric.

"Repeat after me," The preacher said, looking down at her, "I Jackie Burkhart give you Eric Forman…"

"I Jackie Burkhart give you Eric Forman," She started waiting for him to finish.

"This ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you," He finished.

"This ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you," She said gently as she slipped the ring onto Eric's left ring finger, making him smile wider.

Eric then grabbed Jackie's ring and presented it to her as the preacher again spoke, "Repeat after me. I Eric Forman give you Jackie Burkhart…"

"I Eric Forman give you Jackie Burkhart," He said, his voice trembling.

"This ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you," The preacher finished again.

"This ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you," Eric said, then sliding the ring onto Jackie's left ring finger.

"And by the power invested in me by the State of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride," The preacher said with a smile, folding his hands at his waist now.

Jackie smiled up at Eric and he smiled down at her, looking into each other's eyes. Eric placed his hands on her waist as he leaned down and kissed her for the first time as married couple. Jackie wrapped her arms around his neck as she leaned into the kiss, his arms going around her waist and pulling her closer. After a few long seconds, the newly-wed couple slowly pulled apart and smiled at each other, Eric resting his forehead against hers.

The crowd was now standing and applauding the couple, genuinely happy for them. Eric and Jackie smiled out at the crowd a moment later, both of them being washed away of nervous anxiety and now both just feeling happy together.

Jackie couldn't believe how far they've come. In 1984 she went back to college and met back up with a drunk Eric Forman who was trying to fight with a much bigger guy, and now a year and a half later, here they were. Married and happy. Jackie nor Eric ever thought their lives would go like this, but they were both happy, and that was all that mattered.

0-0-0-0-0

"This looks delicious, Andrea," Jackie beamed as she looked down at their wedding cake that Andrea had made. He was always good at baking and cooking.

"Thank you," Andrea said with a smile as he handed the knife to Jackie.

"Come on, Eric," Jackie said with a sweet smile to her new husband, gesturing for him to step over to her so they could cut the first slice.

Eric smiled down at her and gently placed his hands over hers and the handle of the knife and they delicately cut through the gorgeous wedding cake. Half of it was red velvet and half of it was chocolate. Jackie's favorite flavor and Eric's favorite flavor.

The little crowd around them were beaming at the couple, watching as they traditionally fed each other a slice of cake, both of them smiling at each other. After they did that, Andrea began cutting the cake and handing out slices to the rest of the guests, forcing eye contact and making sure he smiled at everyone.

After a moment, everyone was seated and eating their cake, starting to chit chat.

"This is really good, Andrea," Maya said as she chewed on a piece, "Do all Italians know how to bake?"

Andrea shrugged his shoulders loosely, "We know how to make wine, too."

Maya giggled at that as she stood next to David, who also cleans up very nicely. This wedding was absolutely amazing, everything everybody did was amazing. Jackie and Eric both were thankful everything turned out the way they wanted it too. Now, after the ceremony was over, their nerves had quickly calmed and they just focused on relaxing and having a good time here with all of their friends and family.

Usually, the bride and groom sit at a table by themselves, in front of all the guests, but Eric and Jackie wanted to sit with their friends and family. They all gathered at a large table after finishing their cake. It was nice to see the old gang together again.

Fez was sitting across from Eric and Jackie, next to his wife as he held his one year old son in his lap. Kelso's family sat next to Fez's, Betsy still eating on her cake and baby Mark in Brooke's arms. They'd probably be leaving earlier so they could get Mark to bed. Hyde sat with Kitty, Laurie, and Donna, his fiancée June right next to him. And then of course, Eric and Jackie's roommates were there, as well as the kids.

"Can you teach me how to bake, Andrea?" Peyton asked the man, looking up at him from where she sat, finishing her slice of red velvet cake, which was her favorite.

Andrea nodded, "Sure."

Peyton smiled up at him sweetly and went back to eating. Jackie smiled over at Andrea. She couldn't believe he didn't realize how much he meant to those kids.

"You're Eric's sister right?" Bruno suddenly asked, looking across the table at Laurie.

She sent him a small smile and nodded, "Yes. Why?"

Bruno cocked his head to the side and gazed at her intently before he said, "Eric said you guys argued a lot when you were kids."

Laurie shrugged gently and nodded, "We did, but… We get along decently now. Right Eric?"

Eric looked over at his sister and smiled sarcastically, "Oh… Yeah, totally."

Laurie rolled her eyes and looked down at Bruno, "All siblings argue every now and again, I'm sure you and your siblings do the same."

Bruno nodded, "Sometimes," Bruno then looked over at Hyde, smiling a little more now, "You're Eric's brother?"

Hyde looked down at Bruno, a little taken off guard, "Um… Well, not technically, no."

Kitty looked over at Bruno and said, "We adopted Steven. So yes, he is Eric's brother."

Hyde smirked a little, but only a little, as he continued looking down at the boy, who then said, "Eric told me you're really cool and you don't care about nothing!"

Hyde smiled and nodded, relaxing back into his chair, "That's right."

"Uncle Ricky?" Betsy suddenly spoke from across the table, a little shyly.

Eric turned his attention towards the girl and raised a curious eyebrow, "Yes Betsy?"

"Can I, uh… Can I ask you something?" She asked, avoiding everyone's gaze as now all attention was on her.

"Sure. What's is it?" Eric asked curiously, a little concerned now.

"Uh… In private?" Betsy said quietly, a little embarrassed.

Eric looked up at her father, an eyebrow raised. Kelso just shrugged and gave him the go ahead. Eric looked back down at her and began to stand, "Sure."

Betsy hopped out of her seat and ran around the table, grabbing Eric's hand and dragging him away from the presence of all of their friends and family. Betsy pulled him out of the noisy ballroom and into the foyer where bartenders were serving drinks.

"What's wrong, bug?" Eric asked, using his nickname for her.

"Well, it's just…" She seemed nervous. What could be making a seven year old girl so nervous?

Eric finally kneeled down to her height and tried to catch her eye, "Betsy?"

"It's just…" Betsy finally sighed, her tiny fists clenching anxiously, "You never come and visit anymore…"

Eric sighed and gazed sadly at the girl, "Is that what all of this is about?"

Betsy shook her head, "You seem to like it here so much. You have everything now. A house, a family, a wife now. I'm scared you forgot about me."

Eric smiled sweetly at her, scoffing a little as he placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder, "Betsy… I could never forget about you. It's just… Things get a little busy when you grow up. I'm not in college anymore. I got a job, and… A family. I've not forgotten about you, I just haven't had enough time to come to Wisconsin."

"Why not?" Betsy asked sadly, finally looking him in the eye.

Eric sighed sadly, but offered her a small smile, "Things change, bug. When you're older you'll understand. I want to come and visit, I do, but I just don't have enough time."

Betsy tilted her head down and gazed at the floor, her bottom lip stuck out in a pout. Eric tried to figure out how to cheer her up, then he smiled.

"Hey, why don't I come down for the Fourth of July? That's not too far away," Eric suggested, "And I know I'm coming to visit for Christmas."

Betsy looked up at Eric again, hope filled eyes, "What about my birthday next year?"

Eric smiled sweetly at her and pointed towards the ballroom, "If you go out there, put on a smile, and have a good time, I promise I will come to your birthday party next year."

"Pinkie promise?" Betsy asked, holding out her pinky.

Eric nodded and smiled, "Pinkie promise."

Betsy then smiled a tad as they 'shook' on it, then she pointed at Eric like a parent might after catching their kid doing something bad, "You can't break this promise!"

Eric held up his hands in defense, "I would never break a pinkie promise. It's the most sacred of all promises."

Betsy smiled and nodded, "Good."

Then, she grabbed Eric's hand, and marched him back into the ballroom.

0-0-0-0-0

The kids were in bed by ten that night, everyone completely worn out from the long, but amazing day. Jackie and Eric were both just happy to be out of their formal attire.

"What a day," Jackie said as she flopped back onto their bed, a big smile on her face, "It was the best day of my life."

Eric smiled over at her from where he lay right next to her, "Mine too… I just wish I could afford to take you on a honeymoon."

Jackie looked over at him and smiled sweetly, "I don't need a honeymoon, Eric. I'm happy right where I am."

"But you deserve one," Eric said, gazing up at the ceiling now.

"Eric," Jackie said softly, rolling onto her side and looking at his face, "I don't need a honeymoon. If it's too expensive, it's too expensive. No amount of money spent is better than you."

Eric sighed contently and looked over at her, "Really?"

Jackie rolled her eyes and smiled incredulously, "I wouldn't have married you if it was!"

Eric smiled at her, his hazel eyes looking into hers with the utmost adoration. She looked so beautiful right now. Jackie always stressed as a teenager. She always had to look perfect. She had to have the right makeup, the right clothes, the right shoes, the right everything. She was embarrassed of herself back then for some reason, she always had to prove herself to everyone. Of course, she'd never tell anyone that. Eric thought she looked perfect anyway she was. Whether she was all done up, or in a pair of sweatpants.

"I love you, Jackie," Eric suddenly said, and she smiled.

"I love you, too," Jackie said in return, leaning over and placing a soft, gentle kiss on his lips.

They were together now, forever. She was his, and he was hers. Everything in that moment seemed to be right in the world, neither of them would change a thing.


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer - Read the first chapter's.

May 9, 1986

Jackie was at the hospital. She'd been sick recently and Eric told her to come after it seemed to be lasting a bit too long. Her nose was all stuffed up, she's had a horrible cough, her stomach hurt. Everything felt awful. She had to drive here herself, as everyone else was still at work. She had taken a few days off.

She sat patiently in the waiting room, well… Not so patiently. She's been waiting forever. She's already had her checkup, she was just waiting to get called so she could pick up her medicine. This was taking way too long. How long did it really take to get medicine?

Other than the illness, Jackie has been having a great month. She and Eric have been happier than ever before since they got married. The kids were all happy, Andrea and Rachel were happy, David and Maya were happy. Even Ayrton had found himself a girlfriend, who they have yet to meet.

Peyton was in eighth grade now, and she kept telling everyone she was ready for high school. Jackie remembered being that young and looking forward to high school. She looks back at that now and laughs. Everything was so dramatic back then.

Bruno's been happy as well, he's actually started calling Eric and Jackie, mom and dad. Well, sometimes. It's as if he were scared to call them that, but Jackie nor Eric had any problem with it. Bruno should know that, his little brother calls them mom and dad all the time.

"Mrs. Forman," The doctor suddenly called, holding a clipboard in her hand.

Jackie looked up, the corners of her mouth twitching into a small smile. She never got tired of hearing people address her with her new last name. Jackie stood and started over towards the doctor, who smiled at her kindly.

"Follow me," She said, making Jackie raise an eyebrow.

"We just finished the physical," Jackie reminded her, though she followed the doctor out of the waiting room, "I'm just here to pick up my medicine."

The doctor smiled, "I know. I just wanted to speak to you about everything out of the way of everyone in the waiting room."

"Okay…" Jackie said, still a little confused.

After they were out of the way of the other patients, they walked into a small room and the doctor closed the door behind her.

"Okay, Mrs. Forman," The doctor said as she turned to Jackie, looking down at her clipboard, "You have quite a sheet of problems here. You have a throat infection, a nasal infection, you're slightly dehydrated, probably from all of the throwing up, and, of course, you have a pretty nasty cold."

Jackie nodded, "I'm sorry if I sound rude, but you already told me that. Like I said, I was just waiting to pick up my medicine."

The doctor nodded and smiled, "Yes, I know. But there was one other thing that I just got the results back for."

Jackie nodded and gazed at the doctor curiously, "Okay…"

"You might want to take a seat," The doctor said, and this made Jackie nervous.

"O-okay," Jackie said again, going to sit down in the chair behind her as the doctor looked down at her, a weird sort of look on her face, "W-what's all of this about? I'm not sick am I? Like, really sick?"

"Oh no, dear. That's not it at all," The doctor assured her with a smile.

"T-then what's going on?" Jackie asked, her heart beating fast now.

"Well, there's not really any other way to say this than…" The doctor then smiled and shrugged her shoulders, "You're pregnant, sweetheart."

Jackie jolted and then froze. She sucked in a sharp breath and held it, feeling as if her heart just stopped beating. Pregnant? No. This wasn't real? Was it? Jackie looked down at her stomach, placing her small hands over her belly nervously. She felt nauseous now. Is this why she's been throwing up so much this past week? She swallowed thickly, feeling herself start to tremble.

"A-are you sure?" Jackie asked, wanting to be positive.

The doctor chuckled and nodded, "Yes, I'm sure, honey."

Jackie looked back down at her belly again, her hands still placed over it. She couldn't believe this. Her and Eric have been married for a month and a half and she was already pregnant.

"How far along am I?" Jackie asked curiously, peering up at the doctor.

The doctor shrugged, "I'm going to say about a month, but I don't know for sure. We'd have to do an ultrasound to know the facts," The doctor noticed how odd Jackie was acting, prompting her to ask, "Are you alright?"

Jackie nodded shakily, "Yeah… I'm fine…"

"Did you not want this news?" The doctor asked curiously, a little concerned.

Jackie then snapped her head up to the doctor and shook her head, "No, no, that's not it. I did want this, I'm just—"

"Surprised?" The doctor asked with a small smile.

Jackie nodded, "Yeah."

"I'm guessing this is your first pregnancy?" The doctor asked.

Jackie nodded, "Is it that obvious?"

The doctor chuckled and looked down at her clipboard, "If you want, we can schedule an ultrasound for the next couple of weeks. You could tell your husband and bring him along if you'd like. How's that sound?"

Eric. How was she going to tell him? Would he be happy? That was a silly question, of course he would, Eric loves kids. He's been talking about having kids since he was a kid.

"Mrs. Forman?" The doctor suddenly spoke again, making Jackie jerk her head up and nod.

"Yes, that'd be great," Jackie said, looking down at her belly again, finally letting a small smile grace her lips, "I'm pregnant…"

The doctor smiled down at her and wrote something down on a piece of paper, "Congratulations."

Then she took the piece of paper and handed it to Jackie, telling her to go and get a referral for an ultrasound before she directed Jackie back to the waiting room.

0-0-0-0-0

Jackie came home an hour or so later, nervous excitement welling up inside her. When she entered the apartment she was instantly greeted with the kids yelling, but they sounded happy. Jackie closed the door behind her and walked around to the kitchen, where all three children were sitting at the table with Andrea, and they all seemed to be playing a board game.

"Hey guys," Jackie said with a small smile as she entered the room.

They all looked up at her and greeted her happily and Andrea asked, "How was your appointment?"

Jackie shrugged and held up a paper bag, "I got a lot of medicine to take."

"Sorry," Andrea said with a frown, "I hope you feel better soon."

"I'll be fine," Jackie shrugged as she now looked around, "Where's Eric?"

"He's your room grading papers," Andrea responded as he rolled the dice.

"Okay, thanks," Jackie then put the bag down on the counter and walked out of the kitchen, heading towards their bedroom.

She opened the door slightly, peeking her head in. Eric was on the bed, looking over some papers, looking quite serious about it. He was already in a pair of sweatpants and a baggy ACDC t-shirt, his hair messy as hell. Jackie inhaled a deep breath as she opened the door and stepped into the room, the door creaking as it opened, the noise garnering Eric's attention.

He smiled when he saw his wife, "Hey Jackie, how'd the doctor's visit go?"

"I got a lot of medicine to take," Jackie told him the same thing she told Andrea and the kids.

"That sucks," Eric replied with a sarcastic smile.

Jackie gazed at him lovingly for a moment before she tenderly stepped across the room, closing the door behind her. She crawled onto their bed and sat beside Eric, careful not to touch any of his paperwork as she grabbed his arm and wrapped around her shoulders, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Jackie?" Eric said, one eyebrow raised, his smile remaining, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Jackie said as her heart pounded in her chest, "I just wanted a cuddle."

Eric furrowed his eyebrows and gazed down at her curiously. Jackie grabbed his hand and looked down at his wedding ring, smiling sweetly at it, thinking back to the greatest day of her life. She released a tense breath and gazed up at Eric.

"Jackie, you're acting weird. What's wrong?" Eric asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Nothing's wrong," Jackie said with a content smile, "Everything's perfect."

"Then why are you acting so weird?" Eric asked curiously as he felt her forehead, "How bad has this fever gotten?"

Jackie rolled her eyes and pulled away from him so she could get a better look at him, "Well… There's something I need to tell you."

Eric furrowed his brow again and gazed down at her in concern, "What is it?"

Jackie bit her bottom lip nervously, but through a smile, "Eric, I'm…" This was it. This was the big moment you were so nervous for, "Eric, I'm pregnant."

Eric sort of flinched, as if in shock. His eyes went wide before he peered down at Jackie's stomach, but only briefly before he looked back to Jackie's hazel eyes, "R-really?"

Jackie nodded and placed her hands across her belly, beaming the entire time. Then Eric beamed, letting a small laugh escape his mouth.

"Oh my God!" Eric beamed excitedly, peering over at Jackie. She was sure she saw tears filling his eyes, but she couldn't get a good look because he quickly wrapped her into a tight hug, making her laugh her sweet laugh, "We're having a baby!"

Jackie laughed and rubbed his back as he said into her shoulder, "I'm so nervous, but I'm so excited!"

Jackie smiled as he tightened his arms around her, "Me too."

"This doesn't feel real," Eric said quietly into her shirt, but he chuckled happily, "Oh my God, I'm so happy!"

"I'm glad," Jackie giggled, not expecting this excited of a reaction.

"I can't believe it," Eric mumbled into her shoulder, she could just tell he was beaming, "I hope I'm good at this."

"Eric, you already are," Jackie said as she finally pulled away and looked Eric in the eye, grabbing his hands gently, "You have three kids out there who love you. This kid is going to love you too, I can guarantee you that."

"I know…" Eric said with a smile, still trying to take all of this in as he thought of something. He shot his eyes up to Jackie's, "When do you want to tell the others?"

Jackie shrugged, still smiling herself, "I don't know. Soon? We'll figure it out."

Eric beamed again and wrapped his arms around Jackie again, making her let out a happy giggle, "We're having a baby!"

0-0-0-0-0

May 10

That Saturday, everyone had gathered in the living room to watch TV, like they always did after dinner. Eric and Jackie were prepared to tell everyone the big news. Jackie was nervous, her heart was beating fast. She doesn't know why she was so nervous, they'd probably all be astatic. Eric was nervous as well, but excited at the same time.

"Everything will be fine, Jackie," Eric told her quietly as they prepared to go into the living room to join their family.

"I know," Jackie said, releasing a nervous breath, "I don't know why I'm so nervous. They're all going to be happy for us, I'm sure."

"Of course they will be," Eric said with a smile, putting a loving hand on her back, "You ready?"

Jackie nodded, "Yeah… I'm ready."

Eric then opened their bedroom door and led Jackie into the living room, her shoulders tense as they stepped out. They walked into the living room and everybody's eyes were trained on the TV. Family Ties was on. Peyton loved this show, she had a crush on Michael J. Fox and had to tell everyone every time they watched.

"Hey guys," Jackie said nervously.

Peyton looked up at her and beamed, "Jackie, Eric! You're just in time! It just started! Come sit!"

Jackie shook her head and resisted Peyton as she tried pulling her over to sit down, "Actually, me and Eric have something to tell you guys."

Peyton released Jackie's arm and gave her a curious look, "What is it?"

"You two aren't moving out are you?" Andrea asked, sort of sadly.

Jackie shook her head, but she did just kind of realize they might have to when the baby gets here, "No, that's not it."

"Then what is it?" Peyton asked curiously, her dark eyebrows furrowed in slight concern.

"Well," Jackie started, smiling nervously and clasping her hands together in front of her as she looked around at everyone in the room, "As you know, I went to the doctor's the other day and when I was there I got some pretty big news."

"What? Are you pregnant or something?" David asked sarcastically, gazing up at Jackie from where he sat on the couch. But then Jackie stayed silent and smiled a knowing smile, and David suddenly smiled and widened his blue eyes, sitting up now, "Oh my God, you are!"

Jackie beamed and nodded, Eric smiling as well, "We're having a baby!"

The entire room suddenly cried out in cheer and excitement, everyone in the room feeling very happy for the two. Everyone in the room, sort of stepped over to the couple, each and every one of them smiling.

"Congratulations," Rachel beamed, hugging Jackie first and then Eric, "You guys are going to be great parents."

"Thanks," Eric said as he gazed down at Jackie with a wide smile.

"I'm very happy for you two," Ayrton said, now hugging the both of them, "This is wonderful news."

"I can't wait to spoil the little thing," Rachel smiled at Jackie.

"And I'm sure you will," Jackie said sweetly to her best friend.

"Congratulations," Andrea said with a smile, awkwardly moving in to hug Jackie, which surprised her. She wrapped her arms around him, cherishing the rare hug, but it didn't last long, he pulled away just a moment later and then turned to Eric, holding out his hand.

Eric rolled his eyes and shook Andrea's hand, "Thanks Andy."

Andrea didn't even correct him on his name this time, he just smiled and gave him a look.

"I'm gonna be a big brover?" Leo asked with a small smile, looking up at Eric and Jackie, his stuffed bear tucked under his arms and held to his chest.

Eric reached down and picked the boy up, nodding, "That's right, you are."

Leo beamed then, "Cool!"

"I'm so excited!" Bruno cried, jumping up and down a little bit.

"Me too!" Peyton cried.

"We're glad," Jackie said to the kids and her friends.

"Do you have any names picked out yet?" Peyton asked excitedly.

"Well—" Eric tried, but Jackie cut him off.

"Nikolas," Jackie said, smiling sweetly, "We'll call him Niki for short."

"Really?" Eric asked curiously, smiling knowingly.

"Him?" Peyton asked, raising an eyebrow, "You already know the gender?"

"I know," Jackie said, putting her small hand on her belly, "I know it's going to be a boy. I can feel it."

Everyone sort of smiled at Jackie, everyone now just chatting about the future, all very happy for the married couple.

0-0-0-0-0

May 17, 1986

Jackie was tired now after she had just eaten half a cereal box and now she was lying in bed with Eric, staring up at the ceiling. She's been having cravings lately, she didn't think they came this early, but the doctor said it was normal, so… She was feeling a bit sick now.

"You okay?" Eric asked her in concern, gazing over at her.

"I think I ate too much cereal," Jackie said, holding her stomach.

"Yeah, it's probably not the best idea to eat half a box of Lucky Charms," Eric teased, but he rubbed her arm, trying to comfort her.

"I'll be fine," Jackie smiled sweetly, grabbing his hand on her arm, "My doctor said this was normal."

They were quiet for a minute, Jackie trying to lay comfortably, trying to help her stomach pains. It didn't hurt too bad, it was just kind of crampy. She'll be fine later.

"You think it's going to be boy, huh?" Eric asked, leaning his head against hers.

"I know it's going to be a boy," Jackie told him, resting on hand on her stomach, "And we're naming him Nikolas. I've already got it all planned out."

"That's the name I picked out," Eric said, looking over at her happily, "You really like it?"

"Yeah, I think it's cute," Jackie smiled sweetly.

"Okay, but what if, and I'm just giving the possibility, what if it's a girl?" Eric asked, "What would we name her?"

"Mary," Jackie responded simply.

"Mary Forman," Eric tested the name, then he smiled, "I like it."

"Really?" Jackie asked, peering over at him.

"Yeah," Eric said, "It's beautiful."

Jackie smiled at Eric and then peered down at her belly again, both hands over it now. She was so excited for this baby to come, she was nearly two months along, and since she found out a week ago, it had been to longest week. She doesn't know how she's going to stand this long wait, and she was sure Eric felt the same way.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N – Alright guys, there's only one more chapter after this. This is a big chapter though, I hope you guys like it. Thanks for the reviews. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

July 20, 1986

It was three o'clock in the morning when Eric realized Jackie was no longer lying in bed with him. He furrowed his brow when he noticed this and looked over to where she usually lay. He laid his hand down in her spot; it was still warm. She had just gotten up recently then. He gently sat up and peered at the door across the room that was wide open. Eric raised an eyebrow and pushed the blankets off his body before he got out of bed and headed out into the apartment.

He pushed into the living room, but the only thing that lit the room was the light coming from the kitchen. He made his way in that direction, stretching his arms over his head and letting a quiet yawn as he walked slowly. He walked around the corner and stopped in the entryway, one eyebrow raised. Jackie was sitting at the table with three different snack food around her; salt and vinegar potato chips, a jar of pickles, and peanut butter.

"Jackie?" Eric said as he gazed over at her, a small smile playing at his lips.

"Oh… Sorry, did I wake you?" Jackie asked, diverting her attention to her husband.

Eric shook his head with a smile, "No, no… What're you doing?"

Jackie looked down at the snacks around her and then back up at Eric, "I had a craving for pickles."

"And apparently chips and peanut butter, too," Eric smiled, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, I ate most of the pickles," Jackie explained, looking around at her various snacks, "And I was still hungry, so I found these chips, and then I thought… Peanut butter would taste great on them."

Eric wrinkled his nose, "Not the best combination."

"It tastes amazing!" Jackie said.

"Yeah, it's pretty obvious you're pregnant," Eric joked, going to sit with her at the table.

"I didn't realize the cravings would hit me like they did," Jackie smiled as she ate another chip with peanut butter on top, "I thought women were just over-exaggerating when they talked about pregnancy cravings, but I'm here to tell you they were absolutely right."

"Yeah, I can tell," Eric said, gazing across at his beautiful wife.

"You know what would be really good right now?" Jackie asked, her hazel eyes wide, "You're mom's lasagna."

"Well, it is the best lasagna in the world," Eric said as he crossed his arms over his chest, smiling sweetly at Jackie.

Jackie then frowned and averted Eric's eyes, "I miss our friends back home."

Eric tried not to smile at this, she was having a hard time right now controlling her cravings and hormones, but she was just beaming a minute ago and now she looked like she was about to cry over something pretty silly, "They're coming to see us in a few weeks."

"I know," Jackie said sadly, still avoiding Eric's gaze, "But that's so far away."

"Jackie," Eric said, trying to keep her from getting too upset, "These few weeks will just fly by."

"How do you know?" Jackie asked, finally looking up at him.

"I know everything," Eric teased, trying to make her feel better.

Jackie smirked a little, "Maybe you're right."

"I am, trust me," Eric said as Jackie looked down at her snacks again.

"Do we have any ketchup?" Jackie asked, looking up at Eric again.

Eric just rolled his eyes, stifled a laugh, and went to look in the fridge.

0-0-0-0-0

August 22, 1986

"God, look at me, I'm fat," Jackie complained as her and Rachel walked around a store in the mall.

"Jackie, you're not fat, you're pregnant," Rachel stated, rolling her eyes.

"I can't believe I'm already shopping for maternity clothes," Jackie said, looking down at her belly, which had a visible baby bump now.

"Already? Jackie, you're four months pregnant," Rachel reminded her, looking around at some of the clothes, "Remember when Georgie got pregnant? She was in maternity clothes in two months. You're lucky."

"That's because Georgie had a big baby," Jackie said.

"Then you'll probably have a little baby," Rachel said with a shrug, "I mean, you're tiny Jackie, and Eric weighs what? 130 pounds?"

"140 actually," Jackie corrected her.

"He's still a skinny little shit," Rachel said, offering Jackie a sarcastic smile.

Jackie smiled a small smile back and looked around at the clothes, "None of this really looks like me."

"They're maternity clothes, they're nobody style," Rachel stated, then smiled as she pulled out a shirt, "Look at this one."

Jackie looked over at what her friend was presenting to her. It was a plain purple t-shirt, but Jackie liked it because it didn't look like something you'd wear to yoga class like pretty much everything else in this store, "I like that one."

"Good," Rachel said, folding the shirt over her arm, "We've got a good amount of shirts now, we just need to find you some pants."

"They're all yoga pants, though," Jackie complained, following behind Rachel as they headed over to the pants section.

"I'm sure we can find something," Rachel said.

Jackie's belly started growling at that moment, and she looked down at it and frowned. Rachel looked over her shoulder at Jackie and furrowed her brow, "You're hungry again? We just ate an hour ago."

"I know," Jackie frowned, giving her friend a pleading look, "This is why I'm fat."

"Jackie, for the last time, you're not fat, you're pregnant!" Rachel said, a little louder this time, as if trying to get it through Jackie's head, "So come on. Let's find you some pants, check out, and then we can go get something to eat."

Jackie just frowned and let Rachel drag her along.

0-0-0-0-0

September 19, 1986

"I can't wait for the baby to get here!" Leo cried excitedly as he held onto Jackie's hand. They were standing outside the elementary school, waiting to pick up Bruno, "I'm gonna teach him so many fings!"

"I bet you will," Jackie smiled down at the boy.

"It's going to be so cool having a baby around the apartment," Peyton smiled up at Jackie and Eric, "He's going to be the cutest little thing."

"I'm glad you two are excited," Jackie smiled.

"Eric! Jackie!" Bruno suddenly cried, garnering everyone's attention. They all looked ahead to see Bruno beaming at them, running up to them excitedly.

"Hey buddy!" Eric smiled as Bruno ran up to him, and he lifted him up into his arms, "How was school?"

"Good," Bruno said, showing Eric his spelling test result, "I got a 100 on my spelling test!"

Eric beamed, "Hey, that's great! Good job!"

"Thanks," Bruno smiled.

"Eric!" A familiar voice called out, garnering the group's attention once more.

"Oh God," Eric groaned and frowned when he saw the woman who called out to him.

Jackie raised an eyebrow and looked up at her husband, "Who is that?"

"That's Christi," Eric said, not looking pleased, "She used to teach Algebra at the middle school, but she transferred and now she teaches fourth grade here. She had this weird… Thing for me."

Jackie furrowed her brow and looked towards the woman, "You never mentioned her."

"That's because I hate her," Eric said, then forced a smile, "Christi! How you doing?"

"I'm fine, I just needed to talk to you about something," She said, gazing up at Eric curiously. She sounded like a fake, Jackie thought.

"Okay," Eric said, stepping away from his family a little. Jackie curiously watched him and then turned her head back to look at Andrea, who had driven them here. Eric's car was in the shop, so Andrea's been driving them around everywhere, because God forbid anyone drive his car themselves.

"Well, you know Maya?" Christi asked curiously.

"Yes, she's my roommate's girlfriend," Eric said, nodding as he crossed his arms. Maya taught Kindergarten at this elementary school.

"Well, I saw her with Mr. Reynolds the other day," Christi said with a frown.

"Okay?" Eric was missing the point here.

"I think she's cheating on David with Mr. Reynolds," Christi explained, but she didn't really give details.

"What makes you think that?" Eric asked, trying to stay calm. Maya wasn't cheating on David, she wasn't like that. And Eric knew she talked to Mr. Reynolds often because they both were concerned about the school and were trying to start a fundraiser to raise money.

"Well, they were talking this morning, and they were really close," Christi said quietly, "They were laughing and she sort of touched his arm in a suggestive way…"

"Christi, I know why Maya talks with Mr. Reynolds, so does David," Eric said, breaking his calm character, "He knows her and Mr. Reynolds are close, he even knows they go out for coffee sometimes. Friends do that sometimes, I didn't know if you knew. They talk about things to help the school, they're both really concerned about the special-ed class, they're trying to think up ways to help raise money for the school. Stop going around telling lies."

"I was just telling you what I thought I saw," Christi spat, putting her hands on her hips and glaring up at Eric.

"Well, you need to stay out of everybody's business," Eric said, glaring at Christi now, but he quickly turned and tried going back over to his family so they could leave, his family looking very concerned.

"I just thought Maya was following your lead," Christi said, just wanting to make Eric look bad, "We all know what happened last year, Eric. We all know you cheated on Jackie."

"What?" Eric said, turning around and glaring at Christi.

"That girl you made out with," Christi accused, "You know the one I'm talking about. We all know there was more than just a kiss between you two."

"I swear to—"

"Eric, it's okay," Jackie calmed, grabbing his arm and trying to pull him back as Andrea came over to stand with the children, "Just ignore her, come on."

"Maybe you're wife followed the same lead," Christi accused again, smiling smugly at Jackie and then darting her eyes over to Eric's, "Are you sure that baby's even yours?"

Eric glared at her and pointed an angry finger in her face, "Don't talk about my family that way!"

"Eric, come on," Jackie urged, tugging on her husband's arm, but now she felt anger welling up inside of her, "She isn't worth it."

"Got something to hide?" Christi asked Jackie, that smug look still on her face.

"Screw off," Jackie said, glaring at the older woman now.

"You do, don't you?" Christi suggested, her arms still crossed.

"Shut up," Andrea suddenly snapped, stepping over to the small group and pointing an angry finger in the woman's face, "You do not talk to them that way."

"You must be Andrea," Christi remarked smugly.

"Yes, I am, and I am here to tell you, you are messing with the wrong family," Andrea snapped, glaring at the woman, "You do not mess with Jackie, you do not mess with Eric, and you definitely, and I mean DEFINITELY, do not mess with their baby. The minute you do that, you got me to handle, you got it?"

"But I—"

"You are lucky I am in a good mood today, because otherwise this would not end well," Andrea spat, his dark brown eyes glaring at the woman intensely, "Now fuck off."

The woman swallowed thickly, but replied with, "You don't scare me, you know?"

"I do not care if I scare you or not, that is not the goal here," Andrea explained, "The goal here is for you to leave us alone and never speak to us again. Now as I said before, fuck off."

Christi glared at him and the other two adults and said, "Fine. Obviously you guys don't care about spreading your diseases around the city."

Jackie wanted to punch her so bad, but she was fine with what Andrea said next, "And obviously you do not care about being the world's biggest bitch."

Christi just glared over her shoulder at Andrea and then walked off, not having anything more to say. Eric and Jackie looked over at Andrea, both very surprised with all of that.

"Wow Andrea, that was really cool," Peyton suddenly said, gazing up at him in surprise.

"Yeah, that was really nice of you," Jackie said, smiling a tad in admiration.

"Well, I was not going to just let her talk to you two that way," Andrea said, looking over at his two friends, "You are family. And no one messes with my family."

Everybody smiled at that, and Jackie quickly wrapped Andrea into a hug, and he tensed immediately, "That was so sweet, Andrea."

"Yes, thank you," Andrea said, slightly annoyed, "Please, get off of me."

Jackie just giggled and pulled away from him, "Thanks."

"No problem," Andrea replied before he gestured towards the car, "Now come on, let's go home."

0-0-0-0-0

November 27, 1986

It was Thanksgiving Day in Point Place, and it was the first time the kids have been here. It was a full house this year, which made Kitty actually pretty happy. Of course her kids were there with Jackie and the kids. Andrea and Rachel came, and Kitty absolutely adored the both of them. Ayrton wanted to come, as well as David, who had to be talked into it, he even brought Maya. And then of course, the visitors who would go to their own homes tonight were there.

Jackie was seven months along now, and she was showing pretty well now. She took maternity leave a few weeks ago and wouldn't be back to work for a while. The whole family was getting pretty excited for the arrival of the baby. Jackie was excited for two reasons. One, she wanted her little bundle of joy, and two, it was getting exhausting walking around. Everything she ate seemed to give her heartburn, she had started having a hard time sleeping, her feet had started to swell, and her back hurt all the time.

"God, I wish I could walk more than five minutes without having to sit down," Jackie complained as she sat down on the couch, feeling a lot better now after she elevated her feet, "I can't wait to be back to normal."

"Well, on the bright side, you look great," Donna complimented with a smile.

Jackie rolled her eyes, "Thanks Donna."

"Don't mention it," Donna smiled sarcastically as she leaned back against the couch cushions with Jackie.

"I bet you're excited," Fez's wife, Barbara, suddenly said as she entered the room, coming to sit down in the armchair as she peered over at Jackie; she was holding her one year old son Steven in her arms.

"I am," Jackie smiled, "For several reasons."

Barbara nodded, "Yeah, I know. Trust me."

"I wish it were time now," Jackie said with a shrug, looking down at her stomach, "But… To be honest, I am kind of nervous."

"That's okay," Barbara smiled, adjusting her son in her lap, "I was nervous, too."

"Is it really as painful as everybody says it is?" Jackie asked, albeit, nervously.

"It's painful," Barbara said, bouncing little Steven on her knee as he babbled and chewed on his fist, "It's not the best feeling in the world, I can tell you that."

"Thanks for easing my nerves there, Barb," Jackie said in slight annoyance.

"Well, you are giving birth," Barbara said, finally looking up at Jackie.

"I know, I'm just so nervous," Jackie said, shrugging, looking down at her hands in her lap.

"I know," Barb said with a sweet smile, "You guys will do great, try not to think about it too much."

"I'll try," Jackie said, "I hope I can do this."

"You can," Barb said, "Don't worry about it. As soon as that baby gets here, there will be nothing else that matters. It'll bring you the biggest joy."

Jackie smiled down at her belly, both her small hands lying against it. She widened her eyes with surprise and smiled a wide smile when she felt the softest kicks underneath her hands. She looked over at Donna and said, "Donna, he's kicking."

Donna smiled at Jackie, Jackie's happy smile making her smile. She let Jackie grab her hand and rest it on her belly very gently, letting her feel the baby kick.

"That is so cool…" Donna said quietly, her smile becoming brighter.

Jackie looked up and looked over her shoulder behind the couch. In the little room next to the front door, the kids were playing, "Kids, come in here. Quick!"

Peyton looked up from her magazine and furrowed her brow as she laid it on the small coffee table and followed her little brother's into the living room.

"What's wrong?" Peyton asked as she stopped in front of Jackie.

"The baby's kicking," Jackie smiled, "Want to feel?"

Peyton looked down at Jackie's belly and smiled, nodding a little, "Can I?"

"Of course," Jackie giggled, letting the recently turned fifteen year old put her hand on her stomach.

Peyton giggled when she felt the kick, "Whoa… That is so weird. But it's so cool."

"He's stwong!" Leo cried, beaming up at Jackie.

Bruno gently placed his hand on Jackie's belly, waiting to feel the kick, and he jumped a little when he did, "Whoa!"

Everybody giggled at the boy and Jackie asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah," Bruno said, smiling a tad as he put his hand back, wanting to feel it again.

"He's restless," Peyton said with a giggle.

"I can't wait for him to be here," Bruno said, looking up at Jackie, "Can't you, mom?"

Everyone got quiet then. Bruno had never called her mom. Not once. He's asked her before if he could, but he's never done it. He seemed to realize what he just said, but he did nothing to correct himself.

Jackie smiled, "Yeah, I can't wait either, buddy."

Bruno smiled back at Jackie and waited patiently for the baby to kick again.

0-0-0-0-0

January 2, 1987

The day after New Year's was a calm day. There was no party, so there nobody was hungover yesterday. Everybody just relaxed around her, all very anxious and excited for the arrival of the baby, which would be happening any day now.

Jackie was currently in her and Eric's bedroom where they had recently done some rearranging so they could put a crib in here. Jackie looked down into the crib, her fingers softly wrapped around the bar of it. It was a beautiful crib given to them by Kitty. It was Eric's when he was a baby and still as sturdy as ever. Red had built it himself.

Jackie smiled sweetly down at the blue bedding in the crib, all ready to rest her little angel's head. She smiled and turned towards the door, going out into the living room where Andrea, Ayrton, and the kids all were. Eric had gone out to get something to eat, he should be back any minute now.

"You feeling okay, Jackie?" Peyton asked as she looked towards her; Jackie looked exhausted.

"I'm fine, just tired, is all," Jackie said as she stepped over to the couch and sat down next to Andrea.

"Just a little bit longer," Bruno said, smiling sweetly up at Jackie, "Hang in there."

"Thanks, Bruno," Jackie smiled down at the boy who was playing with his toy cars with Leo.

Andrea gazed over at Jackie with uncertainty, "Are you sure you are okay? You look a bit pale."

"I'm fine, Andrea," Jackie eased as she adjusted in her seat, wincing a tad at the slight pain in her stomach. It was probably what she ate for lunch. Everything upset her stomach these days.

Andrea wasn't convinced, "Are you sure?"

"Andrea, I said—" But she was interrupted when a sharp pain suddenly hit her. She winced and held her hands to her stomach, a noise of pain escaping her figure. Everybody's attention was suddenly on her.

"Jackie?" Andrea said, grabbing her arm gently and peering at her curiously.

"Oh God…" Jackie groaned as she looked down at her legs, "I-I think my water just broke."

"What?!" Andrea suddenly cried, his whole body tensing up.

"We need to go," Ayrton said, standing.

"What's going on?" Bruno asked curiously, standing now and looking around at the now frantic adults and his older sister.

"The baby's coming," Peyton said down to her brother, and he suddenly beamed.

"What?!" Bruno cried excitedly and then grabbed Leo's hands and pulled him to his feet, "Leo, we're getting a little brother!"

"I alweady know vat," Leo said, not understanding what was going on.

"No, I mean right now!" Bruno cried excitedly.

Leo then beamed and looked over to Jackie as Andrea suddenly stood and helped her to her feet gently. Peyton ordered her brother's around, trying to get them moving. They put their shoes on and also their coats as Andrea and Ayrton helped Jackie to the door. It wasn't a moment longer that they had left the apartment.

0-0-0-0-0

Jackie was in her hospital room not much later, and she's been in labor for God knows how long. Andrea called everybody that needed to know and Eric was there as soon as he possibly could, but traffic was horrible today and he had a hard time getting to the hospital, but he eventually made it.

"Jackie," He said, very out of breath as he entered her room and rushed to her bedside, grabbing ahold of her hand, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm just in a lot of pain, that's all," Jackie said, her face red from crying. It was now that Eric noticed the doctor and nurse in the room as well.

"Eric…" Jackie whimpered as she squeezed his hand, "It really hurts."

"I know, I know," Eric tried to sooth her, stroking her hair back from her face, "It's going to be okay, you're going to be okay. You're strong, you can do this."

He gazed down at Jackie nervously who was wincing horribly. He couldn't even begin to imagine the pain she was in right now. Her skin shined with sweat as she tried her best to breathe in and out and keep her heart rate steady. She gripped Eric's hand tightly, her fingernails digging into his skin roughly, but he shook it off and dealt with it. Now wasn't the best time for him to be complaining.

Jackie cried out loudly at a sharp pain in her stomach and one of the nurses looked to the doctor and said something that Eric couldn't here over Jackie's painful groaning.

"Alright then, Mrs. Forman," The doctor said as he wheeled his chair over and sat at the foot of Jackie's bed, "Let's have a baby."

"Eric," Jackie whimpered as she squeezed his hand again, tears streaming down her face, "I-I'm scared."

"I know, but everything will be okay, I promise," Eric said, offering her a comforting smile, his heart beating a hundred miles a minute, "All your pain will be forgotten as soon as this baby gets here, I promise you that. Everything's going to be okay."

Jackie inhaled a sharp gasp as she tightened her grip on Eric's hand, which he didn't actually think was possible, but she was full of surprises.

"Alright, Mrs. Burkhart, I can see the head, in just a minute I'm going to have to ask you to start pushing," The doctor told her calmly as he put on some gloves.

"Are you ready?" Eric asked curiously, nervously to his wife.

Jackie nodded, a sudden confident twinkle in her eye, "I've never been more ready for anything in my life."

"That's the spirit," The doctor smiled as he looked down, "Are you ready?"

Jackie nodded again, "I'm ready."

"Okay, on the count of three. One, two, three, push!" The doctor ordered and Jackie tried with all her might.

Barbara said this would be painful, and she right. Jackie felt the tears start up again as she latched onto Eric, and he tried comforting her as best as he could. The doctor counted to three again and called for her to push, and Jackie's free hand gripped the railing on the side of her bed tightly, her other hand still latched onto to Eric's. She cried out in pain as she continued to push, and she could feel the sweat rolling down her face. Or was that tears?

As the doctor continued ordering her around, her free hand tightly gripped the bedsheets now. Her heart was beating so fast, she was sure Eric's was doing the same. Jackie's teeth were grit together in pain as she went on with the pushing.

Jackie pushed for the longest time, which she lost track off, but she felt herself let out a joyous laugh when she heard her baby start to cry. He was here. She heard Eric laugh happily, too, as he gazed down at the doctor who held the baby in his arms and examined it.

The doctor looked up, smiling at the married couple, and said, "It's a boy!"

Eric and Jackie both smiled widely at that as the quickly wrapped the baby in a small, soft blanket, and handed him to his mother. Jackie held him close, gazing down at him as he wailed.

Jackie felt Eric's arm wrap around her shoulders and she smiled up at him briefly before she turned her attention back to their little bundle of joy. Eric gently stroked the baby's cheek with his finger, smiling as he ogled over his and Jackie's creation. Eric felt tears sting his eyes as he gazed down at the newborn, he couldn't believe this was happening.

"He's perfect," Jackie said, letting the tears fall.

"He is," Eric agreed, still stroking the baby's cheek.

Jackie smiled sweetly down at him and hugged the child to her as his cries faltered and he got comfortable in his parent's arms. Neither Eric nor Jackie had even noticed that the doctor and nurses had given them a little privacy and left the room for a moment.

"Look at all that hair," Jackie smiled, stroking the baby's soft hair, "He's got a little curl, just like you did."

Eric smiled at that as the child's eyes opened and he peered up at his parents, "Look how bright his eyes are."

"They're so blue," Jackie smiled, looking up at Eric, "He gets that from your side of the family."

They both gazed down at their son, a wide smile on both of their faces. They couldn't believe this, they couldn't believe how much joy this little human had just brought to them. They've never been happier.

"Welcome to the world, Nikolas," Jackie smiled at the boy, grabbing his tiny hand gently as he peered up at both of his parents.

0-0-0-0-0

And hour later, Eric walked into the waiting room where his family were. Andrea and Rachel were sitting next to each other, both of them waiting anxiously. David and Maya were talking quietly to each other, and Ayrton was trying to keep the little ones entertained.

"Hey," Eric said as he entered the room, and everybody immediately looked up at him, all of them standing.

"Well? Is he here yet?" Rachel asked quietly, gripping onto Andrea's shirt.

Eric beamed and nodded, "My son, Nikolas, is here."

Everybody smiled and congratulated him. Everybody gave him a hug, even Andrea.

"How big is he?" Peyton asked curiously, a wide smile on her face.

"Seven pounds, six ounces," Eric said with a smile at his family.

"Can we see him?" Bruno asked curiously, his hands clasped in front of him hopefully.

"Yes, you can," Eric said, looking around at his friends, "Only a few at a time though. The kids first."

The kids beamed excitedly as Eric led them back to Jackie's room, the others congratulating him once again and waiting patiently for their turn to see the new addition to the family.

Eric quickly led the children to Jackie's room, and when they entered, all of them smiled even bigger. Jackie was holding Nikolas in her arms softly, he had just been cleaned up a few minutes ago. He was now in a little blue onesie and his fair skin looked softer now that it was all cleaned up.

"Jackie, you have some visitors," Eric said quietly and she looked over at the door and smiled at the three children.

"Come in," Jackie said, ushering for them to enter.

The three children and Eric quietly stepped into the room and gazed down at Jackie, and then reverting their attention to the baby.

"Oh my goodness, he's so cute," Peyton smiled, clasping her hands under her chin in glee.

"You want to hold him?" Jackie asked, adjusting the newborn in her arms.

"Can I?" Peyton asked.

Jackie nodded and giggled, "Of course, you can. Here, just support his head."

Jackie gently passed Nikolas to the teenager, and she watched Peyton's face light up as soon as the baby was in her arms. Peyton gently stepped back and sat in the armchair next to Jackie's bed, and her siblings immediately made their way over to her, wanting to get a good look of the baby.

Bruno gasped and beamed, "He's perfect."

Eric and Jackie both chuckled at that, Eric sitting on the edge of Jackie's bed next to her. Leo looked up at the baby in his sister's arms, "He's so wittle."

"You were once that little, too," Eric reminded him.

"Not anymore," Leo defended, making Bruno look down at him.

"You'll always be little to me," Bruno teased, and Leo glared playfully at him as Bruno nudged his shoulder gently.

"He looks just like you, dad," Peyton said, looking up at Eric, then she caught herself, "I-I mean…"

"It's okay, Peyton," Eric smiled reassuringly at her, "You don't have to be afraid to me that."

Peyton smiled at him and then looked back down at the baby, feeling the tears sting her eyes, "I'm so happy for you guys… He's amazing."

"Thank you, Peyton," Jackie smiled as she gazed over at the girl, who then stood and stepped back over to Jackie, handing the baby back to his mother.

"I wish I had a family like this," Peyton said, a bit sadly, but she had a smile on her face.

"But, you do," Eric reminded her.

Peyton shrugged, "Well, you know what I mean. A real, LEGAL family."

Eric sighed and looked over at Jackie, a sly smile on his face as he turned back to the kids, Jackie smiling that same smile now, "We were going to wait to tell you guys this, but…"

Peyton furrowed her brow curiously, not sure what they were getting at, "But what?"

"Well, once everything is settled, and the baby's home, and everything goes back to normal…" Eric went on, never losing his look of pure joy, "Me and Jackie were thinking about legally adopting you guys."

Peyton froze, as did Bruno. Bruno peered up at Eric curiously and said, "You mean we'll get to a real family? Like, for real?"

Eric and Jackie both smiled, and Eric nodded, "Yes, we'll get to be a 'real' family."

Bruno suddenly beamed and attacked Eric with a hug, feeling as if he were going to cry, "This is the greatest day of my life!"

"You're going to adopt us?" Leo asked curiously.

"Yeah, buddy, we are," Eric smiled as he hugged Bruno.

"What's that mean?" Leo asked, a furrow in his brow.

"That means me and Jackie will get to be your parents," Eric said, "Officially."

"You alweady are my weal pawents," Leo said, a little confused. He knew they weren't really his parents, he remembered his mother slightly, but he didn't understand. He didn't know you had to legally adopt a child for it to be officially your responsibility.

"Yeah, we know that," Eric explained, "But to be your official guardians we have to adopt you, and we're going to do that. You'll be mine and Jackie's, we'll be your official parents."

Leo then smiled and stepped over to Eric, hugging him. He mumbled something into Eric's shirt, but he didn't catch it, he just returned the hug.

Jackie looked over at Peyton, who had tears running down her face, prompting Jackie to frown, "What's wrong, Peyton?"

Peyton wiped her eyes of tears and shook her head, fighting a smile, "Nothing. I'm just so happy."

"Come here," Eric said, gesturing for her to come over and join in on the group hug, which she gladly did.

This was like a dream come true. This was definitely the best day ever.

0-0-0-0-0

There was one more thing Eric and Jackie had to share today, and that was with Andrea and Rachel, who were now just entering the room. Nikolas had fallen asleep a little over an hour ago and was rested peacefully in his father's arms as Eric sat in the armchair, giving Jackie a bit of a break.

"So this is him, huh?" Rachel said quietly as she stepped into the room, catching the new parent's attention.

Jackie smiled up at her and then over at her little angel, "Yep, that's him."

Rachel and Andrea both approached, both of them had a smile on their face, "He's the cutest thing I've ever seen," Rachel said quietly.

"He looks like you, Eric," Andrea told the new father.

"So I've been told," Eric smiled down at Nikolas.

Jackie looked between Andrea and Rachel, trying to figure out when she should ask them the burning question. She figured now was as good a time as ever, "We have to ask you guys something."

The couple looked over at Jackie, now both looking very curious. Rachel spoke first, "What is it?"

"Well, we were thinking," Jackie started, looking over at Nikolas in Eric's arms, "If anything were ever to happen to me and Eric, where would he go. We debated for a while who should ask to look over him if anything like that were to happen to us. And every time, we landed back on you two."

"What are saying?" Rachel asked curiously, but a small smile was playing across her lips.

"We wanted to ask you guys if you'd like to be the godparents of our child," Jackie said with a hopeful smile.

"R-really?" Andrea stuttered, surprised, "You want me to be the godfather to Nikolas?"

"Yeah, I think he'd be great hands if something were to happen," Jackie said, shrugging her shoulders; she looked incredibly tired.

"I-I did not know you thought so highly of me," Andrea said, looking away from everyone's gawking eyes nervously.

"Andrea, like I've told you before, you're like a brother to me," Jackie said, "We love you, and Eric and I both trust you. You're great with the other kids, they call you Uncle Andrea, for God's sake. We think you'll be a great addition to our family as well as you Rachel."

"This is so amazing," Rachel beamed, "I'd love to be the godmother."

Andrea looked over at his girlfriend as she hugged Jackie gently, and then he looked down at Nikolas. Eric peered up at him and then he stood, "Here."

"What?" Andrea suddenly said, a bit nervous.

"You want to hold him?" Eric asked.

"Well, I, uh, I-I do not know, what if—" But he was cut short by Eric.

"Nothing's going to happen, Andy, just hold him," Eric told him calmly and then he gently transferred Nikolas from his arms to Andrea's.

Andrea was tense as he held the child in his arms, making sure to support his head. Nikolas was amazing. He had dark hair, probably the shade of Eric's. His skin tone was fair, and he was so tiny. He was the spitting image of Eric with a few of Jackie's features thrown into the mix.

Nikolas shifted a little in his sleep and one of his little arms stretched above him, and he yawned before he relaxed back into Andrea's arms, his little head finding comfort against Andrea's chest. Andrea chuckled and smiled at the child as he gazed down at him, having never felt happiness like this.

"Hi, I am your Uncle Andrea," He said to the sleeping boy, "You are just the cutest little thing… I am going to teach you so many things, like how to cook, because neither of your parents can do that with any amount of success."

Eric rolled his eyes, but everybody in the room chuckled and smiled at the sweet scene before them. They all knew then that Andrea had no problem being the godfather to that child, he already absolutely adored him.

Eric shared a look with Jackie, and she smiled back at him. They couldn't believe how far they'd come. Everything was perfect. They had a family. A loving family. Jackie was glad she went back to college, even if it was for just a few weeks, because otherwise she wouldn't have met back up with Eric and she wouldn't be here right now with their newborn son.

Jackie was proud of the life she had made, something she never felt when she was in show business. She's happier now than she's ever been before, and she never wanted it to change.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N – Okay guys, last chapter. I actually got a little sad writing this. I loved writing this story and I'm so glad you guys enjoyed reading it. I'm sad to say goodbye to the OC's I created, I had a blast writing them and developing them. I love this story so much, and I like this chapter a lot, I hope you guys do, too. I'd like to thank my three most common reviewer's. AmbientSpaceNoise, TieDyeJackson, and Novakovic. You guys always make me smile with your reviews, and I hope to see you over at my next story. Thank you guys so much, and as usual, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

July 4, 1999

Twelve years later, Eric and Jackie were living comfortably with their children outside of the city. They moved away from New York City and to Woodstock in 1992, because they wanted to have a house where the kids could grow up and call home.

They lived in a nicely sized house a few minutes out of town. Woodstock wasn't very big and it had a huge hippie population, for obvious reasons. Everybody who lived in the area was really nice, everybody was likeable.

They were currently having a Fourth of July cookout at their house, all of their friends and family came. They just had a pool installed not too long ago, they had saved up money forever to get one for the kids to play in, and they were having a blast.

Niki was now twelve years old, and his resemblance to Eric never faded. He still had blonde hair, but it was starting to get a little darker now, and his blue eyes were as bright as ever. He was currently shooting his siblings with a water gun as they played in the pool, he was having a great time as he usually did.

In 1989, Eric and Jackie had another kid, James, or Jim for short. He was the daredevil of the household. He's been that way since he learned to walk. He looked like Eric as well, he had the blonde hair and blue eyes that ran on his side of the family.

Then, in 1991, another Eric look alike came around and his name was Matthew. Mattie was a momma's boy, he was always hanging around her. He liked helping her with everything she did and he was always begging her to take him to the park or just go out into the backyard and play. He was the sweet, sensitive one of the family.

Then 1992 rolled around, and Tyler was born. Finally, a kid who looked like Jackie, and he really looked like Jackie. There wasn't really an Eric feature on that boy, except maybe personality wise. He was sarcastic, but very sweet, just like his father.

Then both Eric and Jackie were surprised in 1996 when Jackie got pregnant with the twins, Mason and Mary. They had curls like Eric did when he was a baby, but their hair was a bit darker. They were both sweet and both Eric and Jackie could tell they'd be little jokesters when they got bigger.

Peyton was twenty-seven now, and she was married to a man named Fabien. He was a nice guy, but a little strict. They had three kids together, seven year old Arianna, six year old Kara, and two year old Diego, all of them very sweet and a little feisty.

Bruno was now twenty-one and he was studying Engineering in Maddison. He liked school and was a very bright boy. He hasn't changed at all, he's still the same sweet, charming, funny Bruno he's always been.

And Leo was seventeen now and still living at home, since he was only a junior in high school. He was charismatic like his siblings and sweet and funny. He was quite the ladies man as well, which sort of confused him, because he wasn't the tallest most buff guy in the world, he was actually the smallest in his family, which Bruno always said he would be. It must be his charisma. Who knows.

"I don't want to get in, the water's too cold!" Mattie cried, staying away from the edge of the pool.

"Come on, Mattie, it's not that bad," Niki tried as he waded in the deep end of the swimming pool.

"All you gotta do is jump in really quick, then you're used to it!" Tyler cried, trying to get his older brother to get in the pool.

Mattie shook his head, a sort of scared look on his face, "I don't want to."

"Don't be a wuss, Matt," Jim snapped, rolling his eyes.

"Shut up, Jim, don't be mean to him," Niki scolded; he was always a little protective of Mattie, since Mattie was the most sensitive and naïve of all of them.

"I'm scared," Mattie said, clasping his hands together in front of his chest.

Mattie never learned how to swim, which made Jim tease him a little, because even Tyler knew how to swim and he was younger than Mattie. Mattie was scared to do a lot of things, he's always been this way.

"Don't be scared, I've got you," Niki said, swimming over to the edge of the pool to help his brother.

Mattie shook his head, "I don't know…"

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Niki said, looking around Mattie briefly to see his parents and their friends on the back porch talking as they cooked dinner.

"This is stupid," Jim said, rolling his eyes before he swam over to the shallow end, where Mattie was standing. Jim suddenly reached up and grabbed Mattie's hand, pulling him into the water, Mattie crying out in fear before he fell.

Niki smacked his brother on the arm and glared at him, "He can't swim you idiot!"

"It's the shallow end, he can stand," Jim said, turning to look at Mattie as he broke the surface of the water and gasped for air, coughing a little bit.

"Are you okay?" Niki asked his little brother as he went over to him, patting him on the back to help him cough up the water.

Mattie wiped his eyes of water and tears before he looked over at Jim, "Why'd you do that?!"

"You were being a wuss," Jim said, crossing his arms.

"Do you always have to be such an ass?" Niki asked, glaring at Jim.

"Do you always have to be such a prude?" Jim asked in return, sending a glare his brother's way.

"Hey, you two watch your mouth," A female voice suddenly said, and all the kids looked up to see Betsy Kelso sort of grinning down at them, "You wouldn't want your parents to hear any of that."

"Betsy!" Mattie suddenly cried as Betsy stepped down the steps of the shallow end of the pool and got in the chilly water.

She let Mattie wrap his arms around her and she furrowed her brow a little in confusion, "What's wrong, bud?"

"Jimmy's being mean again," Mattie said, trying to stop crying.

"Did he pull you in the water again?" Betsy asked, giving Jim a scolding look.

"Yeah," Mattie said, nodding as he looked up at Betsy.

"Jim, what have you been told about doing stuff like this?" Betsy asked, one eyebrow raised.

"To not to," Jim pouted.

"That's right, and?" Betsy went on.

"To be nice to my brothers and sister," Jim said, "I'm sorry, Mattie."

Mattie sniffled and wiped his eye as he looked over at Jim, "That's okay."

Jim smiled and went over to the side of the pool, lifting himself up and getting out of the water, "I'll go get you a floatie, okay?"

Mattie smiled, "Okay."

Then Jim ran up to the porch in search for a pool floatie for Mattie to get in. Betsy held onto Mattie's hand as they waited for Jim to come back. Betsy looked around at the group of kids, paying attention to what they were doing. Mattie was keeping a grip on her hand, and Niki was just standing in the shallow end quietly, keeping an eye on Jim as he searched for a floatie. Tyler was just having a good time swimming and the twins were up on the porch with their parents and the other adults.

Everybody's had a pretty good life in the past decade. Donna eventually married a man named Leonard and they had two kids together. Lewis, who was an eight year old obsessed with race cars, and three year old Willow, who was the sweetest little thing. She loved to sing and dance.

Then of course, Betsy was now twenty years old. How the time flew by. Eric still called her Bug, which she expected he'd always do. Betsy finally did get a little sibling though, Mark. He was thirteen now, and quite the smartass. He looked like Kelso, sort of acted like him too. He was a lot smarter though. He was actually an honor student.

Fez and his wife Barb only had the one kid, Stevie. He's fourteen now and probably the nicest guy you'd ever meet. Fez and Barb moved to Woodstock as well and just lived a couple blocks away. It was nice and quiet out here, they loved it.

Steven and June got married in the Spring of 89. They were the perfect match, they never fought, which everyone found a little odd. Nobody's ever seen a couple get on so well. If they ever argued, it was usually about something really stupid. Every couple had arguments, but it was very rare to see it between those two. It was probably because they were both so laid back. They ended up having two kids of their own, ten year old Courtney and seven year old Chris. Courtney was a daredevil, but she was sweet, and Chris was a bit shy. He played baseball, which he was always going on about.

David and Maya finally got married in 1994, nobody ever thought it would happen. They still reside in Manhattan, and they have two little ones of their own. Danny, who was two, and Stella who was three. They were both very charming and adorable.

Ayrton was in a relationship with a woman named Pattie. She was a very nice girl, Jackie and Eric both absolutely adored her. They both lived in New York still, not far from where they all used to live. He was very happy, as he should be.

And finally, in 1988, Andrea and Rachel got married. Eric was best man, Jackie was the Maid of Honor. The wedding was beautiful, probably the best wedding Eric and Jackie had ever been too. Besides their own, of course. Andrea and Rachel had kids, surprisingly. They always just thought they'd be the Aunt and Uncle who would spoil their godchildren, but no, they had two kids. Peter, born in 1992, and Jimmy, born in 1993. Peter was exactly like Andrea. Shy and brutally honest, but also sweet and funny. Jimmy was sensitive and sweet, both the boys were adorable.

"Hey guys," Eric suddenly spoke as he stopped at the edge of the pool, his swim trunks on, "You having fun?"

"Daddy!" Mattie suddenly cried, releasing Betsy's hand and reaching his arms out to his father.

Eric smiled and slowly got into the cold water, tensing a little bit as a chill ran down his spine, but he adjusted quickly and held out his arms for his son. Mattie grabbed ahold of Eric and hugged him, looking up at him fearfully.

"What's wrong, bud? Did Jim pull you in again?" Eric asked, looking down into his son's blue eyes.

Mattie nodded, "Yeah… He's getting me a floatie."

"Well, that was nice of him," Eric said, but he looked over his shoulder with a sort of scolding look as he searched for his ten year old son.

Jim eventually returned with a floatie and gave it to Mattie, Eric told his Jim not to be mean to his brother, and then they all played around in the pool for a while. They didn't get out until Jackie walked over with Brooke and they were both holding towels.

"Alright guys, it's getting a bit late, we don't want you guys catching colds," Jackie said, and was immediately met with a collective disappointed groan. Jackie smiled sarcastically and rolled her eyes, "Oh, I know. Mom's so mean."

"We won't get sick, Mommy, it's warm outside," Mattie tried as he kicked his feet under the water, his arms draped over his pool floatie.

"But the water's cold," Jackie said, holding an unfolded towel in her hands, "Besides, you guys have been in there for a while, you need to get out. The others are playing baseball, why don't you guys go play with them?"

"Okay," Niki, Jim, and Tyler all said, the three of them swimming to the edge of the pool or to the stairs and they got out, but Mattie stayed where he was, causing both his parents to frown.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Jackie asked the pouting boy.

"They don't let me play with them," Mattie said, resting his chin on the floatie, "They think I'm too little."

"You're bigger than Tyler," Eric told him, his eyebrows furrowed curiously.

"But he's stronger than me," Mattie said. Mattie got his physical features from Eric, and not just his facial features. He was as skinny as a twig like Eric was, or is.

"Okay, so what you're little, look at me, buddy," Eric said, gesturing towards himself, "I was exactly your size when I was your age, but I was a dang good basketball player."

Jackie smiled, "He was actually pretty good."

"See?" Eric smiled, wading over towards his son, "Just because you're smaller than the other kids, doesn't mean you're not good at things. You just got to try."

Mattie shrugged, still pouting, "I don't know…"

Eric looked up at Jackie and she smiled sweetly down at her son as she was reminded of something, "Hey, you've never met Chris have you?"

"Who's Chris?" Mattie asked, looking up at his mother.

"Uncle Steven's son," Jackie told him, "He's a little younger than you, but a whole lot smaller and he plays baseball, he's pretty good. Maybe you should ask him to play?"

Steven and his wife lived in Chicago, they didn't get to see each other that much anymore until just recently when Steven and June moved here. Everybody loved it here, and now Steven's family, Fez's family, and Andrea and Rachel's family all lived here.

"He's smaller than me?" Mattie asked.

Jackie nodded, "A lot smaller."

Mattie looked over at his father briefly before looking back up at his mother and he nodded, "Okay. I'll try."

"Atta boy," Eric smiled, reaching his arms out towards his son to help him out of the pool, "Now come here."

Eric grabbed Mattie under the arms and pulled him through the floatie before the both of them got out of the pool. Jackie bundled her baby in the warm towel as soon as he got out and started shivering. She rubbed his wet arms, trying to dry him a little bit and then she kissed him on top of the head, "Go get dressed."

"Okay," Mattie said before he quickly made his way up to the house where everybody was.

Jackie smiled at the boy as he ran up to the porch, Eric grabbing the last towel and drying his damp hair.

0-0-0-0-0

The next week, Eric and Jackie decided to help Andrea and Rachel get the last things out of their apartment. They also wanted to see the apartment again. They haven't been up to visit much since they moved to Woodstock. When they moved away, David, Andrea, and Ayrton were all living there, and after Eric, Jackie and the kids left, Maya and Rachel moved in, so there wasn't really a whole lot of room for the married couple and their six kids plus their three adopted ones after all of that happened.

They wanted to show their kids where they lived for a while. Where the best moments of their lives happened. The boys probably barely remembered it, Niki wasn't even five when they left. Leo was excited, he hasn't been to New York for a while.

"Alright guys, this is New York," Eric said from the front seat, garnering the attention of the distracted boys in the back seat.

Niki was listening to music on his MP3 player, Jim was playing on his game boy, Mattie was taking a nap, and Tyler was trying to entertain the three year olds in the back seat.

"Wow…" Leo smiled, looking out the window in awe, "It's just as beautiful as I remember it."

"This is New York?" Tyler asked looking out the window along with his younger twin siblings.

"Wow…" Mason said, peering out the window as his sister Mary just ogled over the towering skyscrapers.

"Niki!" Jim suddenly cried, grabbing his older brother's arm and shaking him roughly, obviously annoying the boy.

"What?" Niki spat, annoyed that he was disturbed from listening to Blink 182.

"Look! We're here!" Jim cried excitedly.

Niki then looked out the window and was instantly taken aback by the beauty of the city. He only ogled for a moment before he turned to a sleeping Mattie and gently shook him awake, "Mattie… Mattie, wake up. Look! We're in New York!"

Mattie groaned sleepily and slowly fluttered his eyes open, inhaling a deep breath as he stretched a little, "What's going on…?"

"Look," Niki smiled, pointing out the window.

Mattie slowly looked over towards his window and peered out, but it took him a moment to fully process what he was seeing, but when he finally did, he beamed and looked up towards his parents in the front seat.

"This is so cool! We used to live here?!" Mattie asked, beaming as he turned his attention back to the city.

"Yep," Eric chuckled at his son's enthusiasm, "It's pretty cool, huh?"

"Cool? This is amazing! Why'd we ever move?" Jim asked, not really understanding why his parents would want to leave a place like this.

"Well, it got a little crowded in the apartment we used to live in with six kids," Eric said, "We didn't make enough money at the time to afford a place to live on our own up here, so we looked for something somewhere else."

"We wanted a place where you kids could grow up," Jackie said, "A house. Each of you would have a bedroom, a big backyard, a neighborhood with nice neighbors, a good school… Woodstock was the perfect place. The houses aren't overly expensive, everybody's nice, the teachers at your school actually care. You guys have a place you can call home. I'm glad it's Woodstock."

Jim smiled and thought about it for a minute before he nodded contently, "Yeah… Me too."

"We should still come visit here more often," Niki said, looking out the window still, "I miss everybody."

"Yeah, I want to see Uncle David and Aunt Maya," Tyler said, looking up at his parents.

"Yeah, and Ayrton too, I miss him," Mattie said, his bottom lip stuck out in a pout.

"We should come visit more often," Eric said, nodding, "It's just hard with my job. You guys know I'm really busy. I wish we could come up here a little more."

"We know, dad," Niki said in understanding, "We're here now, at least… This is really cool."

"I've missed it up here," Leo said with a sad smile, "I think whenever I graduate I'll come live up here."

"That'd be cool," Jackie smiled, looking over her shoulder at the teenager, "I'm sure Ayrton wouldn't mind you bunking with him until you found a job… Just don't try to leave us too soon, okay?"

Leo smiled sweetly, "I won't."

The kids all looked out their windows, all of them in awe over this city. They've never seen anything so beautiful. They were quiet for the next several minutes as their father drove through the traffic that he seemed to be an expert at weaving through.

It wasn't until they slowed to a stop that they were jerked out their curious gazes and they all looked up towards their parents.

"We're here," Eric smiled as he turned the car off.

The kids all looked back out the window curiously. They saw a two story building right outside up on the curb. The first floor was made of red brick and it looked brand new, but they knew it's probably been there forever. The top floor was a mint green color and there were a few windows that looked crystal clear.

"This is where you guys used to live?" Jim asked, a little in surprise, "It doesn't look that big."

"Wait until you the inside," Jackie smiled as she unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to look back at her kids, seeing the excitable grin on Leo's face as he rushed to get out of the car and go to the building, "Come on, let's go."

Eric and Jackie got out of the car, along with their seven kids and then they went up on the curb, looking up at the building that hasn't changed a bit since they last saw it. There were so many memories made in this place, they missed it sometimes.

Eric opened the door to the bar, making the little bell jingle above it and he held it open for his family to walk in past him. They all went into the empty bar that looked like it was going through some renovations. It was a little odd seeing it differently, it didn't look like the place Andrea used to own.

The family quickly made their way upstairs, and once they were to the door, Eric knocked firmly, and then invited himself in.

"Honey, I'm home!" Eric called as he entered the apartment that was now mostly empty.

"Eric!" Rachel's cheery voice suddenly said as she came around the corner, a huge beaming smile on her pretty face, "How are you?"

"I'm fine, how are you?" Eric smiled, letting Rachel hug him.

"Good," Rachel smiled as she pulled away and then she saw Jackie, "Hey Jackie."

The two best friends hugged, both of them squealing a little bit in excitement. The hug didn't last long, because two little voices suddenly cried, "Eric! Jackie!"

Peter and Jimmy suddenly tackled the couple in a huge hug. Jimmy hugged them both tightly, but Peter's hug was more timid and loose like his father's.

"Hey boys," Eric chuckled as he hugged the two, "You guys excited about moving to a new place?"

"Yeah! Because all my friends are there!" Jimmy beamed as he looked up at Eric and Jackie.

"All your friends being us?" Jim suddenly asked the younger boy.

"You guys came too?!" Jimmy beamed excitedly.

"Yeah, mommy and daddy wanted to show us the city," Mattie said shyly, staying right beside his eldest brother.

"Where's Andrea?" Eric asked Rachel as he let the kids talk.

"He's in the bedroom getting some of our clothes together," Rachel said before she looked down at the boys, "Come inside, guys. There's plenty of room."

The family of nine came into the apartment and Jackie closed the door behind them all. The boys stayed in the living room and talked to Peter and Jimmy for a minute as Eric and Jackie followed Rachel to one of the bedrooms where Andrea was. They went into the bedroom and saw Andrea packing a bag full of last minute things, looking very concentrated.

Andrea hadn't changed a bit in the past twelve years, not in any way. He looked the same and acted the same.

"Hey Andy," Eric smiled as he watched the older man shove a shirt into the bag.

Andrea looked up and saw his old friends standing in the doorway and he smiled, "Eric. Jackie. How are you?"

"We're doing great," Eric said as Andrea approached them; he held out his hand robotically for Eric to shake, to which Eric just rolled his eyes and shook the man's hand, "You never change, do you?"

"Why would I change?" Andrea asked with a smile before he turned to Jackie and held out his arms for a hug, to which Jackie obliged and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"Why does she get a hug?" Eric complained, though he was smiling.

"It is common knowledge that if your friend is a man you shake his hand, but if your friend is a woman, you—"

"Hug her, yeah, I know," Eric said with a smile and rolled his eyes, "Do you need help, or what?"

0-0-0-0-0

"And this is where me and your father used to sleep," Jackie said as he showed her children around the apartment.

"This place is so cool," Niki said as he entered his parent's former bedroom, "Did Uncle Andrea really sell it?"

Jackie nodded, a little sad at that fact, "Yes, he did."

"That blows," Jim said, looking around at the chipped yellow painted walls, "This would have been a cool place for me to live when I'm older."

"Well, Andrea and Rachel wanted something different like we did," Jackie shrugged, looking around at the room that held so many memories, "Some things just change, I guess."

"I bet you guys had the best times here," Niki smiled, looking around, "I sort of remember it."

"Do you?" Jackie asked with a curious smile.

Niki nodded, "Yeah," He pointed over towards the window, "I slept by the window."

"You did," Jackie smiled, "I can't believe you remember that."

"I used to look out it all the time," Niki said, skipping over to the window, "I used to love watching the people. Didn't I?"

Jackie nodded and followed her oldest son to the window that he was now looking out. It was so pretty out there. Jackie always loved the people of this city, it was so diverse, "You did."

Niki smiled and leaned his forearms against the windowsill, "To turn back time, eh mom?"

Jackie smiled as Niki pushed himself back off the windowsill and went back over to his brothers, but Jackie remained at the window, her eyes focused on the street. She smiled a sad smile as she watched the cars pass and then she looked down the block a little. Down that way about three blocks was the bar that they used to go to and hang out in. It was now closed, there was a shoe store there now. David told her that over the phone a couple of years ago.

Just down those three blocks is where Eric and Jackie had that stupid argument, and down three more blocks is where Eric was nearly killed in a car accident. Jackie remembers her whole world turned upside down that night, she cried herself to sleep. She'd never forget how worried she was. She still had dreams about it, and they terrified her. But Eric was always there to tell her it would be okay and that he was okay.

Jackie stood there by that window for a while, she barely even noticed that her kids had left the room and had started helping everyone get things outside to Andrea's car. He still had the red Ferrari. Oh, that car.

 _"This is bullshit!" Andrea cried as the man working at the mechanics gave him the estimate to fix his car, "You're going to fix my brakes and windows, and you are telling me it is going to cost eleven hundred dollars?"_

 _"I'm sorry, sir, but that's the real cost," The man at the shop tried._

 _"Bullshit!" Andrea cried again, "Complete and utter bullshit!"_

 _Jackie laughed nervously and grabbed Andrea's arm, trying to calm him down, "I'm sorry, he's got a bit of a temper."_

 _"You think?" The man said, his arms crossed._

 _"Don't get snappy with me, sir!" Andrea snapped, glaring at the man._

 _"Please, get him away from me," The man said, trying to keep his cool, but Andrea wasn't helping matters._

 _"I want to speak to the owner!" Andrea ordered._

 _"You are," The man replied, rather smugly._

 _This only seemed to anger Andrea more, "You run a shit box!"_

 _"Watch your tone, little man. You don't want to fuck with me," The man replied, his gaze hard now._

 _"I'm not fucking with you, I'm too busy fucking with your m—" Then Eric came up behind Andrea and covered his mouth with his own hand._

 _"I'm so sorry," Eric smiled nervously, Andrea fighting at his hands, "You go ahead and fix up the car, I'll cover it."_

Jackie laughed a little at the memory. Andrea was always funny when he wasn't trying to be. Then Jackie remembered that that day didn't so well though. Jackie got chills just thinking about it, so she blocked it out of her mind and turned back to the room that was now just an empty shell of what it used to be.

She sighed and left the room, going into the living room, that was also empty besides the old couch it came with. Jackie smiled at the room where they actually didn't spend too much time. The only thing that was ever done in here were parties or just watching TV, other than that, not really much.

Jackie walked to the kitchen and looked around. The walls were the exact same color that she remembered. The small table and four chairs that previously sat in here were gone. This is the room where they met Peyton, Bruno, and Leo for the first time.

 _"And who are these little guys?"_

 _"This is Peyton," She pointed to the girl, who looked to be the oldest, "Bruno," The school aged boy, "And Leonardo," The toddler._

 _Eric smiled and waved at the three, "Nice to meet you all."_

 _The girl smiled, but it looked forced as she turned back to her bowl of cereal. The toddler was eating dry cereal, and he looked up at Eric curiously, and the other boy smiled happily up at Eric, kicking his feet excitedly, "Andrea told me you're a music teacher."_

 _Eric smiled and nodded, "Well, not yet, but…"_

 _"Can you teach me how to play guitar?" The boy asked, sitting up on his knees in his chair._

 _Eric nodded, smiling gleefully, "Yeah, sure."_

 _Bruno smiled wider, "Awesome!"_

 _Eric smiled at the boy, having made the kid's whole day._

It seemed like just yesterday, and now they were all grown. Leo was next to fly from the nest, and Jackie wasn't really sure if she was ready for it yet. Jackie turned and left the kitchen, going into the lounge room, which was only really an area for partying. That's all they ever used it for anyway.

It was empty as well as pretty much every room in this apartment, and it was kind of sad. Jackie walked around the lounge room, passing the small bathroom on her way around.

 _"Andrea? Are you still in there?" It was quiet, so she knocked again, "Andrea? Are you okay?"_

 _It was quiet for another minute, but this time she heard the door unlock and then a moment later the door opened and revealed Andrea with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, "I cannot find my clothes."_

 _Jackie stifled a laugh and tried keeping a straight face. The situation held more hilarity than it should have because this was the last situation you would see Andrea in. He was usually mature and a bit shy, but he held a bit of a temper._

 _"They're not in there?" Jackie asked._

 _Andrea ran a hand through his unusually unkempt hair, "No."_

 _"Where did you take them off?" Jackie asked, a small smirk playing at her lips._

 _"If I knew that I would not be standing here naked, now would I?" Andrea asked, and Jackie scoffed, making Andrea glare at her, "Do not laugh at me, this is not funny."_

 _"It's a little funny," Jackie said, finally letting herself smile._

 _"Can you go and get me some clothes?" He asked, but not so nicely, but he did add, "Please."_

 _Jackie nodded, "Yeah, wait right here."_

 _She walked back out into the lounge room and walked to Andy's room, going to his closet and just grabbing whatever she first saw, which ended up being a blue sweater and khaki pants. She grabbed some other garments before she made her way back to the bathroom and handed her roommate his clothes._

 _"Thank you," He said, quickly taking the clothes from her hands._

 _"No problem," She smiled, "Need anything else?"_

 _"No," He replied irritably, before shaking his head and scrunching up his face in disgust, "I feel dirty, I need to shower."_

 _Then he stepped back and shut the door in Jackie's face, but she laughed at what he said before she turned and went back into the living room to find Eric still cleaning up._

Jackie eventually found herself back in her and Eric's old bedroom again. It was so weird seeing it empty like this. It was so weird seeing the entire apartment empty like this. Sometimes she wished she could turn back time and be young and carefree again.

This is the room where a lot of important things in her life happened. It was the room where she finally vented her frustration to her mother, it was the room where Niki took his first steps, it was the room where Eric told her he loved her for the first time.

Jackie felt emotional just remembering that moment.

 _"I guess I had to do this at some point."_

 _So Eric grabbed the sides of his sunglasses and slowly took them off, his pale hands shaking with nervousness. When he finally took them off he avoided Jackie's gaze, but he did look up enough for her to see the scar and what it had done to his appearance._

 _Jackie examined it for a second and then she smiled, "Eric… Your eyes are beautiful."_

 _Eric shook his head, "Stop trying to make me feel better, Jackie."_

 _Jackie shook her head and kept the smile on her face, "I'm telling the truth, Eric. You may think it's just pity, but I'm being truthful. You, Eric Forman, are the most beautiful person I've ever met."_

 _Eric shook his head, he couldn't believe her, "I don't think so."_

 _"Well, I do," Jackie replied, grabbing his hands again and squeezing them gently, "There's nothing wrong with you, Eric. You're just human."_

 _Eric could feel the tears stinging his eyes. Everything that he just told her… He couldn't believe he'd done that. He actually did kind of feel a little better, but he still felt sad for some reason. Eric squeezed Jackie's hands, a little harder than she had squeezed his, making her furrow her brow curiously._

 _"Eric?" She said in a concerned way, and then she was taken off guard when Eric wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her shoulder._

 _She wrapped her arms around him a moment later, rubbing his back soothingly as he apologized, "I'm sorry for yelling."_

 _Jackie shook her head, "That's okay."_

 _Eric finally cried and Jackie just held him, rubbing his back and trying to comfort him. This is the second time she's done this now. She eventually brought her hand up to his hair and ran her fingers through it, trying to relax him._

 _After several minutes of hugging, Eric finally spoke, "Jackie?"_

 _"Yeah?" Jackie responded, and what Eric said next changed Jackie's life._

 _"I think…" Eric was nervous, but he said it anyway, "I think I love you."_

This apartment was the greatest thing that ever happened to her and it really just dawned on her that she was getting ready to close this chapter of her life forever. She felt a few hot tears run down her face, and she was only startled out her mind when the voice of her husband spoke.

"Jackie, we got everything packed. You ready to go?" Eric asked, and she could just hear the smile in his voice. He was always so happy, just like he was when she first reconnected with him. Jackie turned around to face her husband, the tears falling from her eyes causing Eric to frown and step into the room towards his wife, "Jackie? What's wrong?"

Eric grabbed her upper arms gently and she looked around the room briefly before she looked up at Eric, "It's silly, but… I'm going to miss this place so much."

Eric smiled a little and rubbed her arms soothingly, "Jackie, we haven't lived here in years."

Jackie nodded, "I know, it's just… Knowing that I'll never be able to just come and visit it is just… It's heartbreaking. We've lived our best moments here, Eric. I'm really going to miss it."

"I'm going to miss it too," Eric admitted, though he still smiled for Jackie, "I mean, we made some of the best friends here. We adopted three kids, we partially raised them here. Niki and Jim learned how to walk in this very room. Saying I'm not going to miss it would make me a liar. This place means the world to me, but… We have to go on. We have a home now."

"This is my home, though," Jackie said sadly, trying to stop herself from crying.

"Not anymore," Eric tried, "It was our home for a while, but we have a new home now. Think about it, Jackie. We may be closing this chapter of our lives, but we have an even more exciting one to start. Look at what we've created."

Eric motioned towards the window and Jackie looked down towards the sidewalk where their kids were helping Andrea and Rachel get things together. Niki was laughing at something Jim was doing, Mattie was helping Andrea put some things in the trunk, and Tyler was helping Rachel. Mason and Mary were being chased around by Peter and Jimmy, all of them had a smile on their faces. Jackie smiled looking down at them all.

"We have the greatest family," Eric smiled down at her, squeezing her arms supportively, "Andy and Rachel are moving to Woodstock to be closer to us. That's how you know."

Jackie looked up at Eric curiously, "How I know what?"

"That it wasn't the apartment that created all those memories, it was the people that lived in it," Eric explained, "This place is important to me, but what's even more important to me are my friends. We can create more memories at our house. We can watch our kids grow up and become the best people. And now, we can watch our little godchildren grow up, too."

Jackie smiled at that and looked back out the window again, "Why are you always right?"

"Because I'm a Forman," Eric smirked sarcastically, "Dumbasses don't run in the family."

"Not according to your father," Jackie giggled, and it made Eric smile just seeing her brighten up.

Eric looked out the window at their kids that were now being chased around by Leo, who was smiling brightly. Eric looked back down at his wife and smiled sweetly, "Are you ready to go?"

Jackie sighed and looked around the room one last time, taking in every little bit of it. The yellow chipping paint, the creaky hardwood flooring, the window that was a pain in the ass to open, the ceiling fan that only had one setting. Slow. Jackie then finally looked up at Eric and she smiled, albeit sadly, but there was a little happiness in there as well.

"Yes," Jackie said, wiping the tears from her pretty eyes, "I'm ready."

Eric smiled and placed a kiss on top of Jackie's head and then he grabbed her hand, using his free hand to push a loose strand of brown hair out of her eyes. Then, she followed her husband out of the room and towards the door.

Eric opened the door, and the two of them turned and looked around the apartment, both of them smiling sadly. Even Eric was getting a little emotional himself. Eric and Jackie shared a content look before Jackie nodded curtly. The both of them then left the room, but they took the memories with them.

Eric walked ahead of Jackie a little bit, but he turned to look back at her as she looked back into the room one final time before she shut the door for the last time.


End file.
